Sample records for fiber building boards

Companies facing new requirements for governance are scrambling to buttress financial-reporting systems, overhaul board structures--whatever it takes to comply. But there are limits to how much good governance can be imposed from the outside. Boards know what they ought to be: seats of challenge and inquiry that add value without meddling and make CEOs more effective but not all-powerful. A board can reach that goal only if it functions as a high-performance team, one that is competent, coordinated, collegial, and focused on an unambiguous goal. Such entities don't just evolve; they must be constructed to an exacting blueprint--what the author calls boardbuilding. In this article, Nadler offers an agenda and a set of tools that boards can use to define and achieve their objectives. It's important for a board to conduct regular self-assessments and to pay attention to the results of those analyses. As a first step, the directors and the CEO should agree on which of the following common board models best fits the company: passive, certifying, engaged, intervening, or operating. The directors and the CEO should then analyze which business tasks are most important and allot sufficient time and resources to them. Next, the board should take inventory of each director's strengths to ensure that the group as a whole possesses the skills necessary to do its work. Directors must exert more influence over meeting agendas and make sure they have the right information at the right time and in the right format to perform their duties. Finally, the board needs to foster an engaged culture characterized by candor and a willingness to challenge. An ambitious board-building process, devised and endorsed both by directors and by management, can potentially turn a good board into a great one. PMID:15146740

Suggestions are offered on establishing an effective board of trustees for colleges and universities. The first step in improving a board must be review of the mission and status of the institution. Four steps in this process are to decide what is wanted and needed on the board, establish a search-and-recruit procedure, establish an orientation…

In a time of transformation in higher education, "Leading Change: How Boards and Presidents Build Exceptional Institutions" fills a significant void in leadership literature and focuses on the changing level of board engagement. This book examines 18 institutions, across the spectrum of higher education, at which the board played a significant…

The paper describes an investigation of transmission in LAN with using polymer optical fiber (POF). There were used two kinds of POF, step index plastic optical fiber (SI-POF) and graded index plastic optical fiber (GI-POF). Furthermore, the paper include a comparison between SI-POF and GI-POF and possibilities of using them. For the project's needs, new type of couplers has been designed and built, optimization has been performed to obtain the best parameters for designed couplers. Additionally, the coupler has been built from the same material, which GI-POF - PMMA is made of. Moreover, CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) transmissions is investigated to improve the network capacity.

Building No. 918, detail of skirt board and concrete post foundation with termite shield - Presidio of San Francisco, Enlisted Men's Barracks Type, West end of Crissy Field, between Pearce & Maudlin Streets, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Teachers more often speak of professionalism in terms of environmental conditions than in terms of standards and dispositions. In 1989, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards devised a certification process that recognizes teachers for subject area expertise and for demonstrating what they know about students in early childhood or…

The strategic plan represents an institution's top priorities. Yet colleges commonly set aside financial resources to pursue them only after investing in maintaining the status quo. When building a budget, boards should focus on putting institutional assets at the center of the process and aligning fiscal decisions with their college's mission and…

Recently the "lab-on-fiber" technology has been rapidly developed and demonstrated in several interdisciplinary application fields. It expressed as multifunctional photonic devices and components arising from the integration onto optical fibers of different materials at micro and nano-scale with suitable physical, chemical and biological properties. In this paper, a briefly introduction about the concept of "lab-in/on-fiber" has been given. Then, we concentrate to discuss in-fiber waveguides integration technology which provides an infrastructure for "lab-in/on-fiber". Finally, we give several examples to show each unique experimental lab-in/on-fiber in different application fields and to demonstrate how it is possible to exploit the micro laboratories platforms.

The foreoptics, fiber optic system and calibration source of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) are described. The foreoptics, based on a modified Kennedy scanner, is coupled by optical fibers to the four spectrometers. The optical fibers allow convenient positioning of the spectrometers in the limited space and enable simple compensation of the scanner's thermal defocus (at the -23 C operating temp) by active control of the fiber focal plane position. A challenging requirement for the fiber optic system was the transmission to the spectral range 1.85 to 2.45 microns at .45 numerical aperture. This was solved with custom fluoride glass fibers from Verre Fluore. The onboard calibration source is also coupled to the spectrometers by the fibers and provides two radiometric levels and a reference spectrum to check the spectrometers' alignment. Results of the performance of the assembled subsystems are presented.

Exterior insulating sheathing for high performance building enclosures is an important strategy for meeting energy efficiency requirements in many climates and can position an existing building to perform at the level of best-in-class new construction. Insulation board is also important in high performance building retrofit situations where minimal disruption at the interior is typically desired.

Continued progress in both civil and military avionics applications is overstressing the capabilities of existing radio-frequency (RF) communication networks based on coaxial cables on board modem aircrafts. Future avionics systems will require high-bandwidth on- board communication links that are lightweight, immune to electromagnetic interference, and highly reliable. Fiber optic communication technology can meet all these challenges in a cost-effective manner. Recently, digital fiber-optic communication systems, where a fiber-optic network acts like a local area network (LAN) for digital data communications, have become a topic of extensive research and development. Although a fiber-optic system can be designed to transport radio-frequency (RF) signals, the digital fiber-optic systems under development today are not capable of transporting microwave and millimeter-wave RF signals used in radar and avionics systems on board an aircraft. Recent advances in fiber optic technology, especially wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), has opened a number of possibilities for designing on-boardfiber optic networks, including all-optical networks for radar and avionics RF signal distribution. In this paper, we investigate a number of different novel approaches for fiber-optic transmission of on-board VHF and UHF RF signals using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The relative merits and demerits of each architecture are discussed, and the suitability of each architecture for particular applications is pointed out. All-optical approaches show better performance than other traditional approaches in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, power consumption, and weight requirements.

Healthcare boards are entering a new era of heightened accountability, scrutiny, and reform. Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, Internal Revenue Service scrutiny, pressure from creditors and bond insurers, activist state attorneys general, media attention, and other forces have sharply increased awareness of the importance of governance and have also raised the bar on what is required of boards and what is considered best-practice governance performance. Yet good governance cannot be legislated. The structure, composition, and specific required functions of boards can be legislated or mandated, but the effective function of boards cannot. At the same time that governance faces this new era of accountability, it is also being bombarded with the legions of monumental challenges in the tumultuous healthcare field. Chief executive officers and their boards must be willing to recognize the challenges and risks to the field of governance in general and to their boards in particular. Furthermore, they must be willing to implement new strategies and approaches for successful governance, including becoming compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; conducting a comprehensive audit of the structure, function, composition, and culture of the board; and seeking board members from outside the community, among many others. PMID:15966533

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

Trust and trusting relationships appear to be critical resources for schools helping superintendents and their school board members build teamwork within their district's vision, mission, and goals. This study examined and analyzed data of the superintendents, board chairs, and newly-inducted board members of the three school districts in small…

Working with K-12 schools is a valuable way for institutions and their boards to cultivate college-ready students and equip them with a sense of purpose and direction when they arrive on campus. Key elements to preparing young students for higher education include communicating expectations clearly and consistently, reaching out to underserved…

Boards and commissions, an important part of Catholic education since the late 1800s, experienced a significant revival in the decades following the Vatican Council II. Today, approximately 68 percent of the Catholic schools in the United States have some form of educational governance structure. Although the primary focus of this handbook, which…

The "on-board" module building systems from Case IH (Module Express 625 [ME 625]) and a system under final testing by John Deere (7760) represent the most radical change in the seed cotton handling and harvest system since the module builder was introduced over 30 years ago. The Module Express 625 c...

The role of the Advanced Air Transportation Technologies program undertaken at the NASA Glenn Research Centers has been focused mainly on the improvement of air transportation safety, with particular emphasis on air transportation communication systems in on-board aircraft. The conventional solutions for digital optical communications systems specifically designed for local/metro area networks are, unfortunately, not capable of transporting the microwave and millimeter RF signals used in avionics systems. Optical networks capable of transporting RF signals are substantially different from the standard digital optical communications systems. The objective of this paper is to identify a number of different communication link architectures for RF/fiber optic transmission using a single backbone fiber for carrying VHF and UHF RF signals in the aircraft. To support these architectures, two approaches derived from both hybrid RF-optical and all-optical processing methodologies are discussed with single and multiple antennas for explicitly transporting VHF and UHF signals, while the relative merits and demerits of each architecture are also addressed. Furthermore, the experimental results of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) link architecture from our test-bed platform, configured for aircraft environment to support simultaneous transmission of multiple RF signals over a single optical fiber, exhibit no appreciable signal degradation at wavelengths of both 1330 and 1550 nm, respectively. Our measurements of signal to noise ratio carried out for the transmission of FM and AM analog modulated signals at these wavelengths indicate that WDM is a fiber optic technology which is potentially suitable for avionics applications.

In the printed wiring board manufacturing sector, methods have been developed to improve the circuit packaging density. The multi-layer printed wiring board manufacturing process is receiving particular attention. In the current manufacture of these boards, the method frequently used is to laminate the core with insulating resin, namely a build-up process. Etching is generally used to form the holes connecting the circuits of these boards. However, a problem has emerged in that the strength of the substrate decreases due to the insulating resin part as the multi-layers are progressively formed. Thus, it becomes necessary to use FRP for the insulation layer part. Since it is very difficult to etch composites, lasers have been proposed for a new way to drill holes in such materials. By appropriate adjustment of the laser penetration energy, the holes are drilled only in the insulation part, and a technique is proposed to stop the holes using the copper foil forming the circuit. AFRP has been considered a suitable FRP for such laser processing. In the present study, attempts were made to experimentally produce multi-layer boards using AFRP and GFRP for the build-up insulation layer, and the characteristics of blind via holes drilling with a small power laser were investigated.

The importance of the high density packaging technology and mounting technology on the printed wiring build-up board has been increased for the consumer electric products. On the other hand, the chance to use the build-up boards for mounting the high density packages has been increased. However, the understanding that the reliability of the solder connection depends on the structure of the package, the motherboard, and the material properties, is not very high. In this paper, the reliability for high density packaging, mounted on the build-up board, is assessed. The compact numerical analysis model for the reliability assessment is suggested and the most reliable packaging design with optimizing each of the parameters is reported. For introduction to the reliability assessment of the FCA attachment, ceramic and silicon are compared as the inter-poser with the parameter of the solder height. The verification of the numerical analysis results using tests on the actual hardware is also shown. And the established numerical analysis model is applied to the study of influence of the copper balance between the front side and the back side copper layers.

Outlining New York City's Division of School Buildings (DSB) Maintenance Program, this report makes recommendations on funding, management reform, and coordination among the various Board of Education divisions. It includes detailed analysis of the board's expenditures for school maintenance. The report updates the 1978 Educational Priorities…

This manual is intended for use by the Alberta, Canada, school boards, administrators, consultants, education staff, and other individuals involved in school building projects. The purpose of the School Capital Plan, funding, and Alberta Education's funding framework are detailed. The school building project components of the School Capital Plan…

The field of optical fiber sensing is highly diverse and this diversity is perceived as a great advantage over more conventional sensors in that an optical sensor can be tailored to measure any of a myriad of physical parameters. In this paper we present a niche application for optical fiber sensors in the domain of biophotonics, namely the monitoring of stress build-up during the curing process of dental resin cements. We discuss the origin of this stress build-up and the problems it can cause when treating patients. Optical fiber sensors aim at excelling in two kind of applications: firstly to perform quality control on batch produced dental cements and measure their total material shrinkage, secondly to monitor the hardening of the cement during in-vivo measurements resulting in the dynamic measurement of the shrinkage and to control the stress in a facing based restoration. We therefore investigated two types of optical fiber sensors as alternatives to conventional measurement techniques; namely polarimetric optical fiber sensors and fiber Bragg gratings written in polarization maintaining fibers. After discussing the results obtained with both optical fiber sensors, we will conclude with a critical assessment of the suitability of the two proposed sensing configurations for multi-parameter stress monitoring.

A novel fiber optic distributed sensor for temperature and strain measurements in building constructions has been developed and studied which is a composite optical element in the form of a reinforced single-mode optical fiber placed directly in the body of a fiberglass armature. The sensor has a reasonably high sensitivity to changes in external temperature and strain and a good spatial resolution. Besides, it is characterized by a high mechanical strength as compared to conventional fiber sensor elements. The experimental results obtained on a prototype show the value of the temperature sensitivity of 0.1 MHz/deg and the sensitivity to strain of 2.7 MHz/mm.

The Institute of Hygiene was requested to determine causes and scope of health complaints made by the employees of Haldensleben district administration after sound absorbing mineral fibre boards had been installed as suspended ceilings. The boards were coated with a lean water-carried paint; however, the edges, which were partially frayed, were not coated. The air inside the rooms was measured on all four storeys of the building, followed by scanning electron microscopy in compliance with VDI Code 3492. In addition, measurements showed fibres with diameters of > 3 microns which are not subject to the regulations for carcinogenic substances, but, in contrast to the thinner fibres, they may cause irritations of skin and mucosa. The employees were questioned about their health problems. At the beginning of 1994, a total of 79 of the 133 employees complained about itching, reddening and burning of their eyes as well as irritations of the upper respiratory tract. More than 50% had consulted a doctor. Late in 1994, another questionnaire survey was completed. The fibre content of the office air was determined to vary from 1000 to 3500 fibres/m3 and, in addition, 100-200 fibres with diameters of > 3 microns. Our investigations showed that there is an interrelationship between the degree of dust accumulation in the offices and health complaints. Independently of the current discussion of the cancer causing potential of thin man-made mineral fibres, the very long and thick mineral fibres (> 3 microns in diameter) are of topical importance to health. PMID:8920752

This paper proposes a portable and unobtrusive heart rate monitor based on fiber specklegram sensors. The proposed module uses the Raspberry Pi module to perform the image acquisition and the fiber specklegram sensor, which is based on multimode plastic optical fibers. The heart rate is obtained by welch power spectral density estimate and the heart beats are identified by means of a threshold analysis.

This guide shows ways that school administrators and board members can contribute to energy choice decisions for educational facilities, and it discusses how reducing operating costs also can create better learning environments. The guide reveals how design guidelines help create high-performance school buildings. It explains the use of energy…

In the laser acceleration project E-163 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, work is being done toward building a traveling wave accelerator that uses as its accelerating structure a length of photonic band gap fiber. The small scale of the optical fiber allows radiation at optical wavelengths to be used to provide the necessary accelerating energy. Optical wavelength driving energy in a small structure yields higher accelerating fields. The existence of a speed-of-light accelerating mode in a photonic band gap fiber has been calculated previously [1]. This paper presents an overview of several of the experimental challenges posed in the development of the proposed photonic band gap fiber accelerator system.

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using glass fibers, a recycled material from waste printed circuit boards (WPCB), as sound absorption and thermal insulation material. Glass fibers were obtained through a fluidized-bed recycling process. Acoustic properties of the recovered glass fibers (RGF) were measured and compared with some commercial sound absorbing materials, such as expanded perlite (EP), expanded vermiculite (EV), and commercial glass fiber. Results show that RGF have good sound absorption ability over the whole tested frequency range (100-6400 Hz). The average sound absorption coefficient of RGF is 0.86, which is prior to those of EP (0.81) and EV (0.73). Noise reduction coefficient analysis indicates that the absorption ability of RGF can meet the requirement of II rating for sound absorbing material according to national standard. The thermal insulation results show that RGF has a fair low thermal conductivity (0.046 W/m K), which is comparable to those of some insulation materials (i.e., EV, EP, and rock wool). Besides, an empirical dependence of thermal conductivity on material temperature was determined for RGF. All the results showed that the reuse of RGF for sound and thermal insulation material provided a promising way for recycling WPCB and obtaining high beneficial products.

Damage progression and fracture of built-up composite structures is evaluated by using computational simulation. The objective is to examine the behavior and response of a stiffened composite (0/ +/- 45/90)(sub s6) laminate panel by simulating the damage initiation, growth, accumulation, progression and propagation to structural collapse. An integrated computer code, CODSTRAN, was augmented for the simulation of the progressive damage and fracture of built-up composite structures under mechanical loading. Results show that damage initiation and progression have significant effect on the structural response. Influence of the type of loading is investigated on the damage initiation, propagation and final fracture of the build-up composite panel.

Damage progression and fracture of built-up composite structures is evaluated by using computational simulation. The objective is to examine the behavior and response of a stiffened composite (0 +/-45/90)(sub s6) laminate panel by simulating the damage initiation, growth, accumulation, progression and propagation to structural collapse. An integrated computer code CODSTRAN was augmented for the simulation of the progressive damage and fracture of built-up composite structures under mechanical loading. Results show that damage initiation and progression to have significant effect on the structural response. Influence of the type of loading is investigated on the damage initiation, propagation and final fracture of the build-up composite panel.

This article reports a numerical investigation on the transmission performance of multilevel systems operating in building links encompassing step-index plastic optical fibers. For such an aim, a simplified model for the multimode fiber propagation is introduced. A sub-carrier multiplexing technique is also simulated to demonstrate the distribution of broadcasting television channels by adopting such fibers. The reported results show that a unique building network based on step-index plastic optical fibers is suitable to carry both Ethernet and broadcast TV signals in all rooms.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote energy savings in the building sector, a project named Batimetre has been set-up, to measure parameters affecting building energy consumption. For the first time, optical fibers have been deployed on internal and external faces of two experimental houses, designed for low energy consumption. With a DTS Raman system, these cables provide a distributed measurement of walls temperature every meter and every two minutes. Such instrumentation is able to deliver a very large number of data at a reduced operating cost. It allows to isolate thermal phenomena in dynamic thermal simulation tools, and to compare several intermediate predicted and measured parameters.

Most school administrators and board members today must perform a tough juggling act. You're challenged to fulfill increasingly complex educational missions, meet rising community expectations, and serve growing student populations all with constrained operating budgets. As districts consider renovating their facilities or building new schools, many have found that smart energy choices can have lasting benefits for their schools, their communities, and the environment.

Several sources of man-made vitreous fibers (MMVFs) may exist in an office environment causing irritation symptoms among occupants. In 258 office buildings, the occurrence and density of settled MMVFs on surfaces were measured by two sampling methods. Altogether, 1113 samples of settled dust were collected from surfaces with plastic bags and gelatine tape and were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope and a stereomicroscope, respectively. Tape samples from 68 buildings were collected from frequently cleaned (n = 162) and seldom cleaned (n = 57) room surfaces in 56 and 29 offices, respectively, and from supply air ducts (n = 24) in 10 offices. MMVFs longer than 20 microm were counted with a stereomicroscope. Irritation symptoms were recorded with a questionnaire. More than 60% of the surface dust and almost 90% of the samples collected from supply air ducts contained MMVFs. The density of MMVFs longer than 20 microm ranged from < 0.1 to 5 fiber cm(- 2). The mean density of the MMVFs was about two times higher on the seldom cleaned surfaces than on the frequently cleaned surfaces. The density was usually under 0.2 MMVF cm(- 2) in surface dust of offices without emission sources of MMVFs. The measurements combined with qualitative analysis of settled dust can help to localize relevant sources of fiber emissions. Altogether, in 40% of the buildings, several occupants had repeated irritation symptoms that were verified by occupational health care personnel. PMID:19626530

In this issue, Lipner and colleagues describe research supporting the value of the examinations used in the maintenance of certification (MOC) programs of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Surgery. The authors of this commentary review the contribution of this research and previous investigations that underscore the value of this component of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) MOC program. In addition, they point out that the MOC examination is one element of a comprehensive approach to physician lifelong learning, assessment, and quality improvement. The ABMS MOC program requires diplomates of the ABMS member boards to engage in continuous professional development in the six domains of competence and performance previously defined by the ABMS and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Although evidence and a sound rationale exist to support educational and assessment methods that target all six domains, it will be important to continue to build the body of evidence demonstrating the value of MOC to the public and to the profession. PMID:21191200

... it can help with weight control. Fiber aids digestion and helps prevent constipation . It is sometimes used ... fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in ...

Building relationships is the essence of the community college. Higher education administrators learned long ago that building rapport with businesses, state and local government, and constituents is the best way to represent the interests of the community. But that does not make it easy. Board members come and go and the shifting dynamics of…

The purpose of the study was to identify strategies/behaviors that successful superintendents used to build strong relationships and trust with their school boards during their entry periods. Three research questions guided the study: (1) What strategies/behaviors are successful superintendents using to build strong relationships and trust with…

In a week marked by a high-profile meeting between President Bush and China's President Hu Jintao, the College Board signed an agreement with the government of China intended to boost the numbers of Chinese-language teachers in American public schools through teaching exchanges, professional-development programs, and new instructional materials.…

This paper provides an insight on the Avionic SW architecture developed by Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I) to achieve structuring of the OBSW as a set of self-standing and re-usable building blocks. It is initially described the underlying framework for building blocks cooperation, which is based on ECSSE-70 packets forwarding (for services request to a building block) and standard parameters exchange for data communication. Subsequently it is discussed the high level of flexibility and scalability of the resulting architecture, reporting as example an implementation of the Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) function which exploits the proposed architecture. The presented approach evolves from avionic SW architecture developed in the scope of the project PRIMA (Mult-Purpose Italian Re-configurable Platform) and has been adopted for the Sentinel-1 Avionic Software (ASW).

Low-density wood fiber insulation boards are traditionally manufactured in a wet process using a closed water circuit (process water). The water of these industrial processes contains natural phenolic extractives, aside from small amounts of admixtures (e.g., binders and paraffin). The suitability of two fungal laccases and one bacterial laccase was determined by biochemical characterization considering stability and substrate spectra. In a series of laboratory scale experiments, the selected commercial laccase from Myceliophtora thermophila was used to catalyze the surface modification of thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) using process water. The laccase catalyzed the covalent binding of the phenolic compounds of the process water onto the wood fiber surface and led to change of the surface chemistry directly via crosslinking of lignin moieties. Although a complete substitution of the binder was not accomplished by laccase, the combined use of laccase and latex significantly improved the mechanical strength properties of wood fiberboards. The enzymatically-treated TMP showed better interactions with the synthetic binder, as shown by FTIR-analysis. Moreover, the enzyme is extensively stable in the process water and the approach requires no fresh water as well as no cost-intensive mediator. By applying a second-order polynomial model in combination with the genetic algorithm (GA), the required amount of laccase and synthetic latex could be optimized enabling the reduction of the binder by 40%. PMID:26046652

Low-density wood fiber insulation boards are traditionally manufactured in a wet process using a closed water circuit (process water). The water of these industrial processes contains natural phenolic extractives, aside from small amounts of admixtures (e.g., binders and paraffin). The suitability of two fungal laccases and one bacterial laccase was determined by biochemical characterization considering stability and substrate spectra. In a series of laboratory scale experiments, the selected commercial laccase from Myceliophtora thermophila was used to catalyze the surface modification of thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) using process water. The laccase catalyzed the covalent binding of the phenolic compounds of the process water onto the wood fiber surface and led to change of the surface chemistry directly via crosslinking of lignin moieties. Although a complete substitution of the binder was not accomplished by laccase, the combined use of laccase and latex significantly improved the mechanical strength properties of wood fiberboards. The enzymatically-treated TMP showed better interactions with the synthetic binder, as shown by FTIR-analysis. Moreover, the enzyme is extensively stable in the process water and the approach requires no fresh water as well as no cost-intensive mediator. By applying a second-order polynomial model in combination with the genetic algorithm (GA), the required amount of laccase and synthetic latex could be optimized enabling the reduction of the binder by 40%. PMID:26046652

Since the start of its contract in 2008, the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL) has demolished 25 buildings with concrete asbestos board (CAB) siding using mechanical means. While the asbestos contained in CAB siding is not friable in its manufactured form, concerns persist that mechanical methods of demolition have the potential to render the asbestos friable and airborne, therefore posing a health risk to demolition workers and the public. CH2M HILL's experience demonstrates that when carefully managed, mechanical demolition of CAB siding can be undertaken safely, successfully, and in compliance with regulatory requirements for the disposal of Class II Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM). While the number of buildings demolished at Hanford and the number of samples collected does not make a conclusive argument that CAB cannot be made friable with normal demolition techniques, it certainly provides a significant body of evidence for the success of the approach. Of course, there are many factors that affect how to demolish a structure and dispose of the waste. These factors will impact the success depending on each site. The most obvious factors which contribute to this success at Hanford are: 1. The availability of onsite waste disposal where the handling and cost of asbestos-containing waste is not much different than other potentially contaminated waste. Therefore, segregation of demolition debris from the potential asbestos contamination is not necessary from a debris handling or asbestos disposal aspect. 2. The space between structures is typically significant enough to allow for large exclusion zones. There are not many restrictions due to cohabitation issues or potential contamination of adjacent facilities. 3. The willingness of the regulators and client to understand the industrial safety issues associated with manual CAB removal. (authors)

The aim of this study was to determine the transversal stiffness of the cortical cytoskeleton and the cytoskeletal protein desmin content in the left ventricle cardiomyocytes, fibers of the mouse soleus and tibialis anterior muscle after a 30-day space flight on board the "BION-M1" biosatellite (Russia, 2013). The dissection was made after 13-16.5 h after landing. The transversal stiffness was measured in relaxed and calcium activated state by, atomic force microscopy. The desmin content was estimated by western blotting, and the expression level of desmin-coding gene was detected using real-time PCR. The results indicate that, the transversal stiffness of the left ventricle cardiomyocytes and fibers of the soleus muscle in relaxed and activated states did not differ from the control. The transversal stiffness of the tibialis muscle fibers in relaxed and activated state was increased in the mice group after space flight. At the same time, in all types of studied tissues the desmin content and the expression level of desmin-coding gene did not differ from the control level. PMID:25730983

A large-scale lifetime building monitoring program was implemented in Singapore in 2001. The monitoring aims of this unique program were to increase safety, verify performance, control quality, increase knowledge, optimize maintenance costs, and evaluate the condition of the structures after a hazardous event. The first instrumented building, which has now been monitored for more than ten years, is presented in this paper. The long-gauge fiber optic strain sensors were embedded in fresh concrete of ground-level columns, thus the monitoring started at the birth of both the construction material and the structure. Measurement sessions were performed during construction, upon completion of each new story and the roof, and after the construction, i.e., in-service. Based on results it was possible to follow and evaluate long-term behavior of the building through every stage of its life. The results of monitoring were analyzed at a local (column) and global (building) level. Over-dimensioning of one column was identified. Differential settlement of foundations was detected, localized, and its magnitude estimated. Post-tremor analysis was performed. Real long-term behavior of concrete columns was assessed. Finally, the long-term performance of the monitoring system was evaluated. The researched monitoring method, monitoring system, rich results gathered over approximately ten years, data analysis algorithms, and the conclusions on the structural behavior and health condition of the building based on monitoring are presented in this paper.

Previous studies have found that block play, board games, and puzzles result in better spatial ability. This study focused on examining the differential impact of structured block play and board games on spatial processing. Two groups of 8-year-old children were studied. One group participated in a five session block play training paradigm and the second group had a similar training protocol but played a word/spelling board game. A mental rotation task was assessed before and after training. The mental rotation task was performed during fMRI to observe the neural changes associated with the two play protocols. Only the block play group showed effects of training for both behavioral measures and fMRI measured brain activation. Behaviorally, the block play group showed improvements in both reaction time and accuracy. Additionally, the block play group showed increased involvement of regions that have been linked to spatial working memory and spatial processing after training. The board game group showed non-significant improvements in mental rotation performance, likely related to practice effects, and no training related brain activation differences. While the current study is preliminary, it does suggest that different "spatial" play activities have differential impacts on spatial processing with structured block play but not board games showing a significant impact on mental rotation performance. PMID:27621714

Previous studies have found that block play, board games, and puzzles result in better spatial ability. This study focused on examining the differential impact of structured block play and board games on spatial processing. Two groups of 8-year-old children were studied. One group participated in a five session block play training paradigm and the second group had a similar training protocol but played a word/spelling board game. A mental rotation task was assessed before and after training. The mental rotation task was performed during fMRI to observe the neural changes associated with the two play protocols. Only the block play group showed effects of training for both behavioral measures and fMRI measured brain activation. Behaviorally, the block play group showed improvements in both reaction time and accuracy. Additionally, the block play group showed increased involvement of regions that have been linked to spatial working memory and spatial processing after training. The board game group showed non-significant improvements in mental rotation performance, likely related to practice effects, and no training related brain activation differences. While the current study is preliminary, it does suggest that different “spatial” play activities have differential impacts on spatial processing with structured block play but not board games showing a significant impact on mental rotation performance. PMID:27621714

The embedding of dielectric chipless sensors for cure monitoring into fiber-reinforced thermosets allows for monitoring and controlling the curing process and consequently higher quality in production. The embedded sensors remain after the processing in the structure. This affects the integrity of the composite structure locally. In order to investigate these effects on the mechanical behavior of the glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP), sensors made on special low loss substrates are integrated into laminates with different lay-ups and thicknesses using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) method. In a parametric study the size of the sensor is varied to observe its influence on the strength and the stiffness of the laminates according to its lay-up and thickness. The size and orientation of the resin rich areas near sensors as well as the distortion in load bearing area as the consequences of the introduction of the sensors are investigated in conjunction with the strength of the structure. An empirical model is proposed by the authors which involves the previously mentioned factors and is used as a rapid tool for the prediction of the changes in bending and tensile strength of simple structures with embedded sensors. The methodology for model’s calibration as well as the validation of the model against the experimental data of different laminates with distinct lay-ups and thicknesses are presented in this work. Mechanical tests under tensile and bending loading indicate that the reduction of the structure’s strength due to sensor integration can be attributed to the size and the orientation of rich resin zones and depends over and above on the size of distorted load bearing area. Depending on the sensor’s elastic modulus the stiffness of the structure may vary through the introduction of a sensor.

Interest has been growing in how to build or manage an effective business advisory board. Developing an advisory board is crucial to keeping CTE programs relevant and viable by engaging the support of business and industry. This article delves into how to build and manage a board, and how to re-energize boards that already exist but may be lacking.

Removal of epoxy smear and glass fiber protrusions in multilayer printed wiring board holes was investigated. Gas plasma techniques, using a mixture of carbon tetrafluoride and oxygen, removed the eposies; however, the glass fibers were not affected.

Fiber-to-the-antenna (FTTA) system can be a cost-effective technique for distributing high frequency signals from the head-end office to a number of remote antenna units via passive optical splitter and propagating through low-loss and low-cost optical fibers. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an optical ultra-wideband (UWB) - impulse radio (IR) FTTA system for in-building and in-home applications. The optical UWB-IR wireless link is operated in the W-band (75 GHz - 110 GHz) using our developed near-ballistic unitraveling-carrier photodiode based photonic transmitter (PT) and a 10 GHz mode-locked laser. 2.5 Gb/s UWB-IR FTTA systems with 1,024 high split-ratio and transmission over 300 m optical fiber are demonstrated using direct PT modulation. PMID:20173867

A task-specific exposure matrix was designed for workers installing building insulation materials. A priori, a matrix element was defined by type of task (installer or helper), type of work area (attic spaces or wall cavities) and type of insulation material (slabs from mineral wool, fiberglass or flax; loose-fill cellulosic material or perlite). In the laboratory a mock-up (full scale) of a one-family house was used for simulated installation of insulation materials (four replicates per matrix element). Personal exposure to dust and fibers was measured. The dust was analyzed for content of endotoxin and some trace elements (boron and aluminum) from fire-retardant or mold-resistant additives. Fibers were characterized as WHO fibers or non-WHO fibers. In support of the exposure matrix, the dustiness of all the materials was measured in a rotating drum tester. For installers in attic spaces, risk of exposure was low for inhalation of dust and WHO fibers from slab materials of mineral wool or fiberglass. Slab materials from flax may cause high risk of exposure to endotoxin. The risk of exposure by inhalation of dust from loose-fill materials was high for installers in attic spaces and for some of the materials risk of exposure was high for boron and aluminum. Exposure by inhalation of cellulosic WHO fibers was high but little is known about the health effects and a risk assessment is not possible. For the insulation of walls, the risk of installers' exposure by inhalation of dust and fibers was low for the slab materials, while a high risk was observed for loose-fill materials. The exposure to WHO fibers was positively correlated to the dust exposure. A dust level of 6.1 mg/m3 was shown to be useful as a proxy for screening exposure to WHO fibers in excess of 10(6) fibers/m3. In the rotating drum, slabs of insulation material from mineral wool or fiberglass were tested as not dusty. Cellulosic loose-fill materials were tested as very dusty, and perlite proved to be

By depositing an amplifying fluorescent polymer (AFP) directly onto the core side wall of an optical fiber near the fiber tip, a functional fiber-optic sensing platform is created at a scale of a mere 0.8×0.8×1.6 mm3, including the second fiber tip for excitation light delivery. The device integrates several functional optical components, a chemical sensory film and the necessary laboratory procedures on a minute scale. Here the Lab-on-a-Fiber (LOF) platform is conceptually introduced and proven to be a high-performance and low-cost approach to detection of trace vapors of TNT explosives. The low-cost potential is achieved by straightforward system construction and simple procedures for the AFP film deposition. The high performance is achieved by a dramatic increase of fluorescence emission signal collection, virtually complete suppression of excitation stray light and the fast response to the presence of TNT vapor, which is illustrated by 30% of quenching percentage occurring within 10 seconds.

Asbestos-related diseases are dose-related. Among these, asbestosis has occurred only with the heavy exposures of the past, is a disappearing disease, and is of no concern with the very small exposures from building occupancy. A possibly increased incidence of lung cancer has been included in risk analysis, but probably is also related to high exposure in that both epidemiologic and experimental data suggest a link between the process of alveolar inflammation and fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis. The major concern has been mesothelioma in that it has occurred with much lower household and neighborhood exposure. Additionally, anxiety concerning buildings with ACM has been heightened by finding of friable asbestos in about 20% of public buildings, discovery of environmental asbestos fibers and asbestos bodies in autopsies, and demonstration of a linear relationship between exposure and lung cancer risk in occupational groups, inviting extrapolation to a much lower dose. Legislative and regulatory mandates, promotional activities of abatement companies, adverse court decisions placing the onus of repairs on asbestos manufacturers, and a pandemic of mediagenic disease' all have contributed to panic among building owners, school boards, insurers, and others. In that there is neither clinical nor epidemiologic support for asbestos-related disease from building occupancy, risk estimates have been based on extrapolation from past experience with generally high-dose occupational exposure. However, only a few epidemiologic studies have contained quantitative estimates of exposure, and these have been measured in terms of all particles, with conversion to asbestos fibers uncertain and the fiber type and dimension largely unknown.

Leather fiber panels are very promising materials for many applications, not only for the easy availability of the constituents but also for their outstanding fi re-retardant properties. These innovative composite panels can be an excellent material for building insulation, and in recent times, the interest of industries in this composite board has considerably arisen. For this reason the discrimination of the components in the leather fiber panels is becoming fundamental in order to ensure their homogeneous properties. A method to characterize the surface of these materials is then required. An ATR FTIR mapping system for the leather fiber panels has been performed with a Perkin-Elmer microscope coupled with a Frontier FTIR spectrometer. The system has successfully allowed transforming the optical image to a chemical one. This technique can be considered as a right tool for routine controls of the surface quality, especially when the leather shavings cannot be optically distinguished.

To build public support for art education, the conference chairperson from the Portland (Oregon) Public School's Board of Education invited Portland students to provide table decorations for a banquet to be held at the board's annual state conference. A portrait sculpture inspired by Picasso's work was the result. (RM)

This pocket guide, a supplement to "The Family Planning Manager," provides suggestions for building an effective, supportive board of directors. Among the topics covered are defining the board's terms of office, board committees, criteria for selecting board members and the board leader, dealing with key family planning issues, and ethical concerns. Also included is a sample chart for keeping track of board diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and professional and organizational experience. Yet another section sets forth a sample board member job description, including requirements, functional responsibilities, and expectations. PMID:12291665

Power plants are particularly complicated projects with abundant opportunities for disputes. Efforts are beginning in the power industry to change the way the industry does business. Key elements of a comprehensive team-building approach include partnering, constructability, use of incentives, and the disputes review board.

Like any other job, board work is associated with specific competencies. Competencies are the combination of knowledge, skills, personal characteristics, and behaviors needed to perform a job or task effectively. Boards are only as strong as their weakest member. Board education should focus on improving the knowledge and skills of the board and individual members and on overall board performance. Assessment of individual board member performance is designed to evaluate the trustee's knowledge of board roles and responsibilities and the expectations of board members. Board effectiveness is built through competency-based board member recruitment and selection; board member education and development; and evaluation of board, board member, and meeting performance. PMID:21291066

Recent progress in fiber technology has enabled new laser designs along with all fiber lidar architectures. Their asset is to avoid free-space optics, sparing lengthy alignment procedures and yielding compact setups that are well adapted for field operations and on board applications thanks to their intrinsic vibration-resistant architectures. We present results in remote sensing for disaster management recently achieved with fiber laser systems. Field trials of a 3-paths lidar vibrometer for the remote study of modal parameters of buildings has shown that application-related constraints were fulfilled and that the obtained results are consistent with simultaneous in situ seismic sensors measurements. Remote multi-gas detection can be obtained using broadband infrared spectroscopy. Results obtained on methane concentration measurement using an infrared supercontinuum fiber laser and analysis in the 3-4 μm band are reported. For gas flux retrieval, air velocity measurement is also required. Long range scanning all-fiber wind lidars are now available thanks to innovative laser architectures. High peak power highly coherent pulses can be extracted from Er3+:Yb3+ and Tm3+ active fibers using methods described in the paper. The additional laser power provides increased coherent lidar capability in range and scanning of large areas but also better system resistance to adverse weather conditions. Wind sensing at ranges beyond 10 km have been achieved and on-going tests of a scanning system dedicated to airport safety is reported.

This paper is the last in a series of reports and initiatives in AGB's Cost Project. The project was designed to build governing board capacity to monitor institutional costs effectively and strategically. Costs and productivity are not new issues in higher education. AGB and its member governing boards have long recognized the importance of…

This paper is the first in a series of reports and initiatives that will constitute AGB's Cost Project. The project is designed to build governing board capacity to monitor institutional costs effectively and strategically. Costs and productivity are not new issues in higher education. AGB and its member governing boards have long recognized the…

The author reports the results of a nationwide survey of school board members which show a shift in focus toward student achievement and away from district-management issues known as the "killer B's": buses, buildings, books, budgets, and bonds. But today's school board members appear not to be as interested in issues that many policy observers…

This booklet is aimed at helping school board members better understand the public relations process and build stronger support for public education. The public expects board of education members to be responsible, energetic communicators who are genuinely responsive to issues raised by the public. The author advocates identifying the various…

The Effective Committees set of booklets comprises publications on the following committees: investment, buildings and grounds, academic affairs, student affairs, finance, development, trustees, audit, compensation, and executive. It is part of the AGB Board Basics Series. This report describes the primary role of an audit committee. The primary…

It was realized early in the history of Konarka that the ability to produce fibers that generate power from solar energy could be applied to a wide variety of applications where fabrics are utilized currently. These applications include personal items such as jackets, shirts and hats, to architectural uses such as awnings, tents, large covers for cars, trucks and even doomed stadiums, to indoor furnishings such as window blinds, shades and drapes. They may also be used as small fabric patches or fiber bundles for powering or recharging batteries in small sensors. Power generating fabrics for clothing is of particular interest to the military where they would be used in uniforms and body armor where portable power is vital to field operations. In strong sunlight these power generating fabrics could be used as a primary source of energy, or they can be used in either direct sunlight or low light conditions to recharge batteries. Early in 2002, Konarka performed a series of proof-of-concept experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of building a photovoltaic cell using dye-sensitized titania and electrolyte on a metal wire core. The approach taken was based on the sequential coating processes used in making fiber optics, namely, a fiber core, e.g., a metal wire serving as the primary electrode, is passed through a series of vertically aligned coating cups. Each of the cups contains a coating fluid that has a specific function in the photocell. A second wire, used as the counter electrode, is brought into the process prior to entering the final coating cup. The latter contains a photopolymerizable, transparent cladding which hardens when passed through a UV chamber. Upon exiting the UV chamber, the finished PV fiber is spooled. Two hundred of foot lengths of PV fiber have been made using this process. When the fiber is exposed to visible radiation, it generates electrical power. The best efficiency exhibited by these fibers is 6% with an average value in the 4

On July 2, 1997 at approximately 6:00 A.M., two operators (Workers 1 and 2), wearing approved personal protective equipment (PPE), began a shredding operation of HEPA filters for volume reduction in Building 513 (B-513) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The waste requisitions indicated they were shredding filters containing {le} 1 {micro}Ci of americium-241 (Am-241). A third operator (Worker 3) provided support to the shredder operators in the shredding area (hot area) from a room that was adjacent to the shredding area (cold area). At Approximately 8:00 A.M., a fourth operator (Worker 4) relieved Worker 2 in the shredding operation. Sometime between 8:30 A.M. and 9:00 A.M., Worker 3 left the cold area to make a phone call and set off a hand and foot counter in Building 514. Upon discovering the contamination, the shredding operation was stopped and surveys were conducted in the shredder area. Surveys conducted on the workers found significant levels of contamination on their PPE and the exterior of their respirator cartridges. An exit survey of Worker 1 was conducted at approximately 10:05 A.M., and found contamination on his PPE, as well as on the exterior and interior of his respirator. Contamination was also found on his face, chest, back of neck, hair, knees, and mustache. A nose blow indicated significant contamination, which was later determined to be curium-244.

WEST FACADE. THREE-STORY BRICK AND STEEL BUILDING WITH CONCRETE ADDITION AT SOUTH FACE. NOTE OPENINGS INTO BUILDING ARE BOARDED OR BRICKED UP WITH WOODEN BOARDS OR CONCRETE BLOCK - National Can Company, 2566 East Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI

This report presents experimental and numerical results from thermal performance studies. The purpose of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between UT-Battelle, LLC and John s Manville was to design a basic concept of a new generation of thermally-enhanced fiber glass insulation. Different types of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have been tested as dynamic components in buildings during the last 4 decades. Most historical studies have found that PCMs enhance building energy performance. Some PCM-enhanced building materials, like PCM-gypsum boards or PCM-impregnated concretes have already found their limited applications in different countries. Today, continued improvements in building envelope technologies suggest that throughout Southern and Central U.S. climates, residences may soon be routinely constructed with PCM in order to maximize insulation effectiveness and maintain low heating and cooling loads. The proposed thermally-enhanced fiber glass insulation will maximize this integration by utilizing a highly-efficient building envelope with high-R thermal insulation, active thermal mass and superior air-tightness. Improved thermal resistance will come from modifications in infrared internal characteristics of the fiber glass insulation. Thermal mass effect can be provided by proprietary thermally-active microencapsulated phase change material (PCM). Work carried out at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on the CRADA is described in this report.

The risks associated with the use of carbon fiber composites in civil aircraft are discussed along with the need for protection of civil aircraft equipment from fire-released carbon fibers. The size and number of carbon fibers released in civil aircraft crash fires, the downwind dissemination of the fibers, their penetration into buildings and equipment, and the vulnerability of electrical/electronic equipment to damage by the fibers are assessed.

The technical director of the Metropolitan Toronto School Boards Study of Educational Facilities (SEF) presents a description of the general theory and execution of the first SEF building system, and his views on the general principles of system building as they might affect architecture and the economy. (TC)

Teachers can use "built teaching aids" or elements of the school building itself to expand teaching and enhance learning. Possibilities include bulletin boards, display cases, murals painted by local artists, permanent information panels, interior windows to classrooms, flags, and bas-reliefs on building exteriors. Playground pavement can become a…

A study was made to determine the feasibility of recover and reuse of low level heat from the exhausts of multi-deck dryers used to dry boards in the building materials industry. There are approximately 1000 dryers of this type in the USA, with no heat recovery equipment. These dryers are used in the manufacture of: roof insulation board, ceiling tile and panel stock, wood fiber sheathing, gypsum board, and veneer plywood. Pilot scale tests and analyses show that heat recovery designs utilizing several types of heat exchange equipment are feasible. These include the following: indirect contact air-to-air heat exchangers for preheating combustion air for the dryer furnaces; direct contact air-to-water heat exchangers using water sprays to heat process water; and indirect contact air-to-liquid heat exchangers to heat recirculating liquid in a plant building heating system. The systems recommended for design and installation at the Rockdale plant include all three of the types of heat exchangers. The preliminary estimate for the installed cost for these systems at the Rockdale plant is $565,000 (1979 dllars). Annual heat recovery of 186,000 million Btu is projected with a value of $545,000 using gas costs of $3.00 per million Btu. Payback based on a discounted cash flow analysis using ten year depreciation is about two years.

Fiber is a substance in plants. Dietary fiber is the kind you eat. It's a type of carbohydrate. You may also see it listed on a food label as soluble fiber or insoluble fiber. Both types have important health benefits. Good sources of dietary fiber include Whole grains Nuts ...

As an aid for school board members, this handbook offers advice on selecting central-office and building administrators. The introduction discusses the board's role in administrator selection, lists 16 areas in which board policies are needed, and suggests criteria and information needed for board policies. Chapter 1 reviews recent changes in the…

Fiber sensor technologies are overviewed. Since the early 1970s, this field has been developed, on the basis of the same devices and photonic principles as fiber communication technologies. Besides simple configurations, in which the fiber acts only as a data transmission line, sophisticated configurations have also been developed, in which the fiber is used as a device to realize unique sensing mechanisms. The fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a good example, and has been developed as an absolute rotation sensor used, for example, for navigation and/or attitude control applications. Compared with traditional spinning-mass gyroscopes, the FOG has advantages, such as a short warming-up time, a light weight, and easy handling. A Japanese satellite, which was launched in August 2005 with a mission to observe the aurora, is controlled with a FOG. The FOG has also been used in consumer applications, such as the camera stabilizer, radio-controlled (RC) helicopter navigation, and the control of humanoid robots. Recently, distributed and multiplexed sensing schemes, in particular, have been studied and developed, in which a long fiber acts like a “nerve” for feeling the strain and/or the temperature distribution along the fiber. Performances of artificial nerve systems have markedly improved within the last couple of years, in spatial resolution and measurement speed. By embedding the “fiber-optic nerve system” in aircraft wings, bridges and tall buildings, these materials and structures can sense damage to prevent disasters.

The Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS) project is an Australia-Japan-UK collaboration to design and build a novel 400 fiber positioner feeding two near infrared spectrographs from the prime focus of the Subaru telescope. The project comprises several parts. Those under design and construction at the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) are the piezoelectric actuator driven fiber positioner (Echidna), a wide field (30 arcmin) corrector and a focal plane imager (FPI) used for controlling the positioner and for field acquisition. This paper presents an overview of the AAO share of the FMOS project. It describes the technical infrastructure required to extend the single Echidna "spine" design to a fully functioning multi-fiber instrument, capable of complete field reconfiguration in less than ten minutes. The modular Echidna system is introduced, wherein the field of view is populated by 12 identical rectangular modules, each positioning 40 science fibers and 2 guide fiber bundles. This arrangement allows maintenance by exchanging modules and minimizes the difficulties of construction. The associated electronics hardware, in itself a significant challenge, includes a 23 layer PCB board, able to supply current to each piezoelectric element in the module. The FPI is a dual purpose imaging system translating in two coordinates and is located beneath the assembled modules. The FPI measures the spine positions as well as acquiring sky images for instrument calibration and for field acquisition. An overview of the software is included.

Now that school boards have been replaced by parent advisory councils, there is virtually no local school governance in New Brunswick, Canada. Factors leading to school boards' demise include neglected democratic institutions, failure to understand local boards' needs, less qualified members, boards' failure to protect their special…

Machine repeatedly flexes single optical fiber or cable or bundle of optical fibers at low temperature. Liquid nitrogen surrounds specimen as it is bent back and forth by motion of piston. Machine inexpensive to build and operate. Tests under repeatable conditions so candidate fibers, cables, and bundles evaluated for general robustness before subjected to expensive shock and vibration tests.

Report characterizes graphite fluoride fibers made from commercially available graphitized carbon fibers and discusses some potential applications of graphite fluoride fibers in outer space. Applications include heat-sinking printed-circuit boards, solar concentrators, and absorption of radar waves. Other applications based on exploitation of increased resistance to degradation by atomic oxygen, present in low orbits around Earth.

Making sure the relative roles of the board and management are clear and agreed upon is becoming more important as market and regulatory forces compel boards to govern at levels of detail once considered micromanagement, but are now required and necessary in the current environment of heightened governance accountability. A clear understanding of each other's roles and responsibilities is step one in building a solid partnership between the board and chief executive. A second element of building a strong foundation for the board-CEO relationship is taking time early on to establish mutual expectations about working together. The board's responsibilities in CEO performance management and compensation include setting performance expectations and goals that are clear and measurable and coaching and motivating the CEO. When a CEO fails, one of the most important steps for the board to take is to look in the mirror and commit to the rigorous due diligence needed to avoid future mistakes. Boards should always have CEO succession on their agenda. PMID:21158257

This document describes the design of the 2nd iteration of the Analog Front End Board (AFEII), which has the function of receiving charge signals from the Central Fiber Tracker (CFT) and providing digital hit pattern and charge amplitude information from those charge signals. This second iteration is intended to address limitations of the current AFE (referred to as AFEI in this document). These limitations become increasingly deleterious to the performance of the Central Fiber Tracker as instantaneous luminosity increases. The limitations are inherent in the design of the key front end chips on the AFEI board (the SVXIIe and the SIFT) and the architecture of the board itself. The key limitations of the AFEI are: (1) SVX saturation; (2) Discriminator to analog readout cross talk; (3) Tick to tick pedestal variation; and (4) Channel to channel pedestal variation. The new version of the AFE board, AFEII, addresses these limitations by use of a new chip, the TriP-t and by architectural changes, while retaining the well understood and desirable features of the AFEI board.

The concept of massively parallel coherent fiber lasers holds great promise to generate enormous laser peak power in order to produce highly energetic particle beams. Such technology is expected to provide a route to practical particle colliders or to proton generation for medical applications. Such concept is based on the phasing of thousands of fiber amplifiers each emitting mJ level pulses, in which optical fibers are key components. In this paper, we present important technological building blocks based on optical fibers, which could pave the way for efficient, compact and cost-effective components to address the technological challenges ahead.

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS OF POWER BUILDING. NOTE DORMER WINDOWS AND BOARD AND BATTEN SIDING USED TO DISGUISE THE BUILDING. - Radar Station B-71, Power Building, Coastal Drive, Klamath, Del Norte County, CA

Cotton fiber cells arising from seed epidermis is the most important agricultural textile commodity in the world. To produce fully mature fibers, approximately two months of fiber developmental process are required. The timing of four distinctive fiber development stages consisting of initiation, ...

Exposure to asbestos fibers has been extensively studied in milling, mining of asbestos fibers, and in industries manufacturing asbestos-cement sheets, pipes, etc. However, very few studies have been reported in asbestos textiles, brake lining workers, and insulation products. In the present investigation, chrysotile exposure monitoring was carried out in a small thermal insulating boards manufacturing facility. Twenty-eight samples were analyzed from various locations like feeding of raw materials, weighing, pressing, machine grinding, and hand finishing of final products. Twenty-five percent of the samples were found to be above ACGIH TLV of 0.1 fibers per milliliter. However, mean fiber concentrations were found to be lower than 0.1 fibers per milliliter, except for the process of feeding of raw materials where the mean fiber concentration was 0.1087+/-0.0631 fibers per milliliter. PMID:19626449

Up to 4.8 W, approximately 10 MHz, 1178 nm laser is obtained by Raman amplification of a distributed feedback diode laser in standard single mode fibers pumped by an 1120 nm Yb fiber laser. More than 10% efficiency and 27 dB amplification is achieved, limited by onset of stimulated Brillouin scattering. The ratio of Raman to Brillouin gain coefficient of a fiber is identified as a figure of merit for building a narrow linewidth fiber Raman amplifier. PMID:18648406

Tests were performed to evaluate the behavior of single carbon fibers existing in an enclosed space such as a room of a building. Three general phenomena were explored: the concentration decay rate of a fiber-charged room, the degree of uniform mixing of fibers within a room, and the effects of fibers being redisseminated off deposition surfaces within a room. The results were required in understanding the ratio of total indoor fiber exposure to total outdoor fiber exposure, a quantity essential to risk analysis. Results indicate that decay rate is predictable within acceptable limits and that homogeneous mixing can always be assumed. Some factors of redissemination are identified and effects discussed.

Board meetings are the time and place where school boards act. In fact, only when coming together as a body in a legal meeting do school board members become a board. Effective board meetings are the first prerequisite for an effective board. Furthermore, what parents and voters see at board meetings determines largely what they think about their…

Conventionally, in intelligent buildings in a metropolitan area network and in small-scale facilities in the optical access network, optical connectors are joined manually using an optical connection board and a patch panel. In this manual connection approach, mistakes occur due to discrepancies between the actual physical settings of the connections and their management because these processes are independent. Moreover, manual cross-connection is time-consuming and expensive because maintenance personnel must be dispatched to remote places to correct mistakes. We have developed a fiber-handling robot and optical connection mechanisms for automatic cross-connection of multiple optical connectors, which are the key elements of automatic optical fiber cross-connect equipment. We evaluate the performance of the equipment, such as its optical characteristics and environmental specifications. We also devise new optical connection mechanisms that enable the automated optical fiber cross-connect module to handle and connect angled physical contact (APC) optical connector plugs. We evaluate the performance of the equipment, such as its optical characteristics. The evaluation results confirm that the automated optical fiber cross-connect equipment can connect APC connectors with low loss and high return loss, indicating that the automated optical fiber cross-connect equipment is suitable for practical use in intelligent buildings and optical access networks.

Highlights Kent State University's (Ohio) conversion of its physical education building to a technology building that features fiber optics and advanced cabling systems. Photos and a floor plan are included. (GR)

Critiques a study comparing National Board for Professional Teaching Standards-certified teachers with those who were unsuccessful in their efforts. Results found that National Board Certification made a difference. This paper suggests that after considerable cost and time, the fundamental question remains unanswered: is the National Board's…

Young Electronics Company's new product is a testboard developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a tool for training and qualifying personnel in board assembly and in the art of soldering components without damaging boards or components. The boards are used for pre- employment testing and employee requalification.

The Scrum Board Game is a workshop for beginners. It is for people with any role (customer, developer, tester, etc.), who don’t exactly know what a Scrum Board is, or how to create one themselves. The workshop teaches the benefits of a Scrum Board, how to use it, and how to introduce it in projects.

Boards at background, left are displays of parts for Edison phonographs which were used in management of production and sales promotions. - Thomas A. Edison Laboratories, Building No. 5, Main Street & Lakeside Avenue, West Orange, Essex County, NJ

As superintendent, and with the support of this detailed book, board meetings can now be turned into productive, results-getting events that help one focus on teaching, learning, and achieving district goals. The authors, having chaired over 1,000 board meetings among them, discuss: (1) Creating role clarity and building the superintendent-based…

The project is an integrative educational and research project that will revolutionize design and construction methods towards more sustainable buildings. The project will develop and test new product design concepts using bio-composite materials in load-bearing and fa&cced...

It is said that "all politics are local," and the same can be said about advocacy and school boards. Advocacy is essential for retaining the progress that's been made in the past, and for building a foundation and network for the future. Advocating for preferred programs, curricula and initiatives has always been important. As a starting point,…

School board records of School District 16 in Greenwood County, Kansas, for the years 1884-1893, reveal issues on the agenda that are still current: open meetings, budget cuts, teacher salaries, property tax increases, the length of the school year, rundown buildings, heating bills, and textbook selection. (MLF)

Composition boards resistant to insect damage are a desirable feature for use in industrial and home construction. Such material should greatly reduce the costly replacement of termite damaged wood and insure the structural integrity of the building. Acceptance of such products would be further enha...

The Automated Fiber Pigtailing Machine (AFPM) aligns and attaches optical fibers to optoelectonic (OE) devices such as laser diodes, photodiodes, and waveguide devices without operator intervention. The so-called pigtailing process is completed with sub-micron accuracies in less than 3 minutes. The AFPM operates unattended for one hour, is modular in design and is compatible with a mass production manufacturing environment. This machine can be used to build components which are used in military aircraft navigation systems, computer systems, communications systems and in the construction of diagnostics and experimental systems.

The Automated Fiber Pigtailing Machine (AFPM) aligns and attaches optical fibers to optoelectronic (OE) devices such as laser diodes, photodiodes, and waveguide devices without operator intervention. The so-called pigtailing process is completed with sub-micron accuracies in less than 3 minutes. The AFPM operates unattended for one hour, is modular in design and is compatible with a mass production manufacturing environment. This machine can be used to build components which are used in military aircraft navigation systems, computer systems, communications systems and in the construction of diagnostics and experimental systems. 26 figs.

Fiber is a substance in plants. Dietary fiber is the kind you eat. It's a type of carbohydrate. You may also see it listed on a food label as soluble ... types have important health benefits. Good sources of dietary fiber include Whole grains Nuts and seeds Fruit and ...

A listing and short descriptions of eleven steps that should be observed in the planning and building of a new school plant. This step-by-step approach was prepared with the inexperienced school board member in mind, and attempts to offer suggestions and advice for each step in the planning, bonding, and building stages. Steps covered are--(1)…

The Sisters of Charity Health Care System (SCHCS), Inc., Cincinnati, undertook a systemwide board evaluation project to support and enhance effective aspects of governance and to deal with obstacles that often arise due to differing beliefs and role confusion. A task force of chief executive officers developed the questionnaire, which was then administered to members of individual facilities' boards and the system's board. The documented highlighted value issues important to SCHCS's ministry and business activities: overall board responsibilities, financial responsibilities, strategic planning, the board's role, committee structures, the board's operating process, board education, and overall board effectiveness. The responses from each member were returned to the local boards, who analyzed them and developed an action plan. A summary of each facility's responses and action plans were forwarded to the system's corporate office. The CEO committee critiqued the process and reported on significant issues and action plans. In general, survey results revealed a strong influence of mission and philosophy in decision making, support for current processes, and effective interaction among board members. The system's corporate office will use the responses to respond to a dynamic environment and strengthen their role in the delivery of Catholic health care services. PMID:10280363

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board has issued guidelines to serve as the basis for enforceable standards to be adopted by the Department of Justice for new construction and alterations of play areas covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guidelines include scoping and technical provisions for ground level…

This report is an update of a report on the development and status of various programs in architecture and related fields in the State University System of Florida, a report that was submitted to the Board of Regents in May 1983. The objectives of this updated report, like those of the earlier one, are to review the anticipated needs of the…

The study on the permeability of an aligned fiber bundle is the key building block in modeling the permeability of advanced woven and braided preforms. Available results on the permeability of fiber bundles in the literature show that a substantial difference exists between numerical and analytical calculations on idealized fiber packing structures, such as square and hexagonal packing, and experimental measurements on practical fiber bundles. The present study focuses on the variation of the permeability of a fiber bundle under practical process conditions. Fiber bundles are considered as containing openings and fiber clusters within the bundle. Numerical simulations on the influence of various openings on the permeability were conducted. Idealized packing structures are used, but with introduced openings distributed in different patterns. Both longitudinal and transverse flow are considered. The results show that openings within the fiber bundle have substantial effect on the permeability. In the longitudinal flow case, the openings become the dominant flow path. In the transverse flow case, the fiber clusters reduce the gap sizes among fibers. Therefore the permeability is greatly influenced by these openings and clusters, respectively. In addition to the porosity or fiber volume fraction, which is commonly used in the permeability expression, another fiber bundle status parameter, the ultimate fiber volume fraction, is introduced to capture the disturbance within a fiber bundle.

Optical fibers have been widely used for transmitting temporal signal. However, the transmission of spatial signal has not been fully exploited. Although multimode fiber has a large space-bandwidth product, transmitting spatial signals by using a fiber is rather difficult. When a laser beam is lached into a multimode fiber, the exit light field produces a complicated speckle pattern caused by the modal phasing of the fiber. It is difficult to recover the transmitted informati from the speckle field. However, the fiber speckle field can be used to fiber sensing with a hologrpahic method. In other words, if a hologram is made with the speckle fiber field, the information of the fiber status can be recovered. Thus by reading the hologram by the same speckle field, the reference beam can be reconstructed, which represents the detection of the speckle field. In other words, instead of exploiting the temporal content, the spatial content from a multimode fiber can be exploited for sensing. Our analyses and experimentations have shown that the fiber specklegram sensor (FSS) is highly senstiive to perturbation, and it is less vulnerable to the environment factors. Applications of the FSS to temperature, transversal displacement, and dynamic sensing are also included.

The printed circuit board is the platform upon which microelectronic components such as semiconductor chips and capacitors are mounted. It provides the electrical interconnections between components and is found in virtually all electronics products. Once considered low technology, the printed circuit board is evolving into a high-technology product. Printed circuit board manufacturing is highly complicated, requiring large equipment investments and over 50 process steps. Many of the high-speed, miniaturized printed circuit boards are now manufactured in cleanrooms with the same health and safety problems posed by other microelectronics manufacturing. Asia produces three-fourths of the world's printed circuit boards. In Asian countries, glycol ethers are the major solvents used in the printed circuit board industry. Large quantities of hazardous chemicals such as formaldehyde, dimethylformamide, and lead are used by the printed circuit board industry. For decades, chemically intensive and often sloppy manufacturing processes exposed tens of thousands of workers to a large number of chemicals that are now known to be reproductive toxicants and carcinogens. The printed circuit board industry has exposed workers to high doses of toxic metals, solvents, acids, and photolithographic chemicals. Only recently has there been any serious effort to diminish the quantity of lead distributed worldwide by the printed circuit board industry. Billions of electronics products have been discarded in every region of the world. This paper summarizes recent regulatory and enforcement efforts. PMID:16580876

Background Community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires equitable partnerships between community stakeholders and academics. Traditionally, researchers relied on community advisory boards, but these boards often play a reactive role on a project-by-project basis. The East and Central Harlem Health Outcomes (ECHHO) Community Action Board (CAB), however, is an effective, proactive group. Objectives The ECHHO board sought to identify key strategies and tools to build and employ a partnership model, and to disseminate lessons learned to other community–academic partnerships. Methods Current and former board members were interviewed and a wide range of related documents was reviewed. Lessons Learned The board became effective when it prioritized action and relationship-building, across seven key domains: Shared priorities, diversity, participation, transparency, mutual respect and recognition, and personal connections. The model is depicted graphically. Conclusion Community advisory boards may benefit from attention to taking action, and to building relationships between academics and community members. PMID:22616207

Previous successes of healthcare organizations and effective governance practices in the pre-reform environment are not predictive of future success. Healthcare has been through numerous phases of growth and development using tried-and-true strategies. The challenge is that our toolbox does not contain what is needed to build the future healthcare delivery systems required in the post-reform world. Healthcare has had a parochial focus at the local level, with some broadening of horizons at the state and national levels. But healthcare delivery is now a global issue that requires a totally different perspective, and many countries are confronting similar issues. US healthcare reform initiatives have far-reaching implications. Compounding the reform dynamics are the simultaneously occurring, gamechanging accelerants such as enabling information technologies and mobile health, new providers of healthcare, increased consumer demands, and limited healthcare dollars, to name a few. Operating in this turbulent environment requires transformational board, executive, and physician leadership because traditional ways of planning for incremental change and attempting to time those adjustments can prove disastrous. Creating the legacy healthcare system for tomorrow requires governing boards and executive leadership to act today as they would in the desired future system. Boards need to create a culture that fosters.innovation with a tolerance for risk and some failure. To provide effective governance, boards must essentially develop new skills, expertise, and ways of thinking. The rapid rate of change requires board members to possess certain capabilities, including the ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty while demonstrating flexibility and adaptability, all with a driving commitment to metrics and results. This requires development plans for both individual members and the overall board. In short, the board needs to function differently, particularly regarding the

SMART Board is a technology that combines the functionality of a whiteboard, computer, and projector into a single system. The interactive nature of the SMART Board offers many practical uses for providing an introduction to or review of material, while the large work area invites collaboration through social interaction and communication. As a…

The importance of official school board minutes cannot be overemphasized in these times involving numerous litigable issues and controversies. The sole evidence as to what exactly occurred during a school board meeting is found in such minutes. Accordingly, it is appropriate to provide assistance to the school superintendent or designated…

The use of display and presentation boards as tools to help teachers/trainers convey messages more clearly is briefly discussed, and 24 different types of display and presentation boards are described and illustrated; i.e., chalk, paste-up, hook-n-loop, electric, flannel, scroll, communication planning, acetate pocket, slot, pin-tack, preview,…

How school board presidents view the communication behaviors of their superintendents was addressed in a doctoral dissertation by H. Steve Sprunger at Purdue University. His study examined the communication behaviors and perceived leadership strength of superintendents as perceived by board presidents. This study was conducted by sending out the…

Advice and tested methods for management of meetings from superintendents and board members are combined in this reference book on conducting effective school board meetings. Intended for a wide readership, it contains three chapters and an exhibit section comprising over one-third of the document. Following a brief introduction, chapter 1,…

The CW 39.4 W all-fiber LD-clad-pumped Tm3+-doped fiber laser output is reported with a slope efficiency of 34% in respect to the pump power. The all-fiber laser is made up by progressively splicing the pigtail fiber, matched FBG fiber and Tm-doped fiber. The reflective FBG and Tm-doped fiber end fresnel reflection build up the laser resonance cavity. Due to the multi-mode FBG as the reflective mirror, the output laser spectrum is multi-peaks at high power output, whereas the total spectrum width is less than 2nm at nearly 1.94 μm.

Asbestos is a mineral in the form of long, thread-like fibers. Asbestos fibers have been among the best insulators of pipes, boilers, ducts, tanks, etc., in buildings, ships, and industrial furnaces. Over 150,000 metric tons of asbestos were consumed in the United States in 1984. The Environmental Protection Agency has declared asbestos fibers a known human carcinogen. And today, asbestos insulators are being replaced by manmade non-hazardous fibers. Millions of tons of replaced asbestos fiber insulators are in storage, awaiting the demonstration of effective alternative disposal technologies. Plasma vitrification has been demonstrated during May, June and July 1995 as a viable, cost-effective, safe technology for asbestos fiber disposal. A low-mass plasma arc heater is submerged under the waste asbestos insulating materials, and the intense heat of the plasma flame heats and melts the fibers. The by-product is dark, non-hazardous glass pellets. The vitrification process renders the asbestos waste safe for use as road construction aggregates or other fill materials. This paper will describe the results of start-up of a 1 ton-per-hour Plasma Mobile Asbestos Vitrification (MAV) Plant at a DOD Site in Port Clinton, Ohio. The Plasma MAV Plant is being demonstrated for the on-site disposal of 1.5 million pounds of Amosite asbestos fibers.

Following a number of essential considerations concerning smart materials and structures as well as the structural diagnostics issues involved with the use of optical fibers in composite materials, the paper builds on earlier theoretical study of the micromechanics of laminae reinforced with multidirectional fibers, proposing that optical fiber grids embedded in matrix material be used to improve strength and monitoring performance. The paper then addresses the static characterization of such laminae, detailing previously obtained results for multidirectional generic fiber grids. For any given percentage fiber content, a numerical application demonstrates that laminae reinforced with a right triangular grid of optical fibers show consistent improvement in their extension and bending stiffness characteristics as compared with laminae reinforced with unidirectional fibers.

This paper describes the application of laser micromachining to rapid prototyping of printed circuit boards (PCB) using nano-second lasers: the solid-state Nd:YAG (532/1064 nm) laser and the Yb:glass fiber laser (1060 nm). Our investigations included tests for various mask types (synthetic lacquer, light-sensitive emulsion and tin). The purpose of these tests was to determine some of the basic parameters such as the resolution of PCB prototyping, speed of processing and quality of PCB mapping with commonly available laser systems. Optimization of process parameters and the proposed conversion algorithm have allowed us to produce circuit boards with a resolution similar to that of the Laser Direct Imaging (LDI) technology.

An optical fiber thermometer consists of an optical fiber whose sensing tip is given a metallic coating. The sensing tip of the fiber is essentially an isothermal cavity, so the emission from this cavity will be approximately equal to the emission from a blackbody. Temperature readings are obtained by measuring the spectral radiative heat flux at the end of the fiber at two wavelengths. The ratio of these measurements and Planck's Law are used to infer the temperature at the sensing tip. Optical fiber thermometers have high accuracy, excellent long-term stability and are immune to electromagnetic interference. In addition, they can be operated for extended periods without requiring re-calibration. For these reasons. it is desirable to use optical fiber thermometers in environments such as the International Space Station. However, it has recently been shown that temperature readings are corrupted by emission from the fiber when extended portions of the probe are exposed to elevated temperatures. This paper will describe several ways in which the reading from a second fiber can be used to correct the corrupted temperature measurements. The accuracy and sensitivity to measurement uncertainty will be presented for each method.

With the development of extremely low-loss optical fibers and their application to communication systems, a revolution has taken fiberglass place during the last 40 years. In 2001, using glass fibers as the transmission medium and lightwaves as carrier wave waves, information was transmitted at a rate more than 1 Tbit/s (which is roughly equivalent to transmission of about 15 million simultaneous telephone conversations) through one hair thin optical fiber. Experimental demonstration of transmission at the rate of 14 Tbit/s over a 160 km long single fiber was demonstrated in 2006, which is equivalent to sending 140 digital high definition movies in 1 s. Very recently record transmission of more than 100 Tbit/s over 165 km single mode fiber has been reported. These can be considered as extremely important technological achievements. In this chapter we will discuss the propagation characteristics of optical fibers with special applications to optical communication systems and also present some of the noncommunication applications such as sensing.

F&S Inc. developed and commercialized fiber optic and microelectromechanical systems- (MEMS) based instrumentation for harsh environments encountered in the aerospace industry. The NASA SBIR programs have provided F&S the funds and the technology to develop ruggedized coatings and coating techniques that are applied during the optical fiber draw process. The F&S optical fiber fabrication facility and developed coating methods enable F&S to manufacture specialty optical fiber with custom designed refractive index profiles and protective or active coatings. F&S has demonstrated sputtered coatings using metals and ceramics and combinations of each, and has also developed techniques to apply thin coatings of specialized polyimides formulated at NASA Langley Research Center. With these capabilities, F&S has produced cost-effective, reliable instrumentation and sensors capable of withstanding temperatures up to 800? C and continues building commercial sales with corporate partners and private funding. More recently, F&S has adapted the same sensing platforms to provide the rapid detection and identification of chemical and biological agents

The design, development, and testing of a fiber optic integrated propulsion/flight control system for an advanced supersonic dash aircraft (flies at supersonic speeds for short periods of time) is the goal of the joint NASA/DOD Fiber Optic Control System Integration (FOCSI) program. Phase 1 provided a comparison of electronic and optical control systems, identified the status of current optical sensor technology, defined the aircraft sensor/actuator environment, proposed architectures for fully optical control systems, and provided schedules for development. Overall, it was determined that there are sufficient continued efforts to develop such a system. It was also determined that it is feasible to build a fiber optic control system for the development of a data base for this technology, but that further work is necessary in sensors, actuators, and components to develop an optimum design, fully fiber optic integrated control system compatible with advanced aircraft environments. Phase 2 is to design, construct, and ground test a fly by light control system. Its first task is to provide a detailed design of the electro-optic architecture.

A photonic circuit board is fabricated for potential application to interchip and interboard parallel optical links. The board comprises photolithographically patterned polymer optical waveguides on a conventional glass-epoxy electrical circuit board and a surface-mounted integrated circuit (IC) package that optically and electrically couples to an optoelectronic IC. The waveguide circuits include eight-channel arrays of straights, cross-throughs, curves, self- aligning interconnects to multi-fiber ribbon, and out-of-plane turning mirrors. A coherent, fused bundle of optical fibers couples light between 45-deg waveguide mirrors and a GaAs receiver array in the IC package. The fiber bundle is easily aligned to the mirrors and the receivers and is amenable to surface mounting and hermetic sealing. The waveguide-receiver- array board achieved error-free data rates up to 1.25 Gbits/s per channel, and modal noise was shown to be negligible.

One of the very unique characteristics of child care boards is the prevalence of parent volunteers serving as board members. When parents serve as board members, a number of challenges are created. Because most parents do not have previous board experience and they are both clients as well as trustees, there is the potential for conflicts of…

The technical objective of the BIFOCS program was to develop, build, and test a full-duplex single fiber, fiber optic link, operating in the 1.0 micron to 1.6 micron region, capable of transmitting 20 Mb/s data (10 to the -9th power BER) over a range of at least 10 km, with a goal of 15 km. The link MTBF goal was 5 X 10 to the 3rd power hours and operation over a temperature range of 0 to 50 C. The fiber optic cable consisted of sections not exceeding 2 km in length joined by commercially available dry fiber optic connectors. The system performed successfully at ambient temperature over 15 km of cable.

WEST FACADE. THREE-STORY BRICK AND STEEL BUILDING WITH CONCRETE ADDITION AT SOUTH FACE. NOTE OPENINGS INTO BUILDING ARE BOARDED OR BRICKED UP WITH WOODEN BOARDS OR CONCRETE BLOCK. (Duplicate color view of HAER MI-352-1) - National Can Company, 2566 East Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI

Based on fluorination technology developed during 1934 to 1959, and the fiber technology developed during the 1970s, a new process was developed to produce graphite fluoride fibers. In the process, pitch based graphitized carbon fibers are at first intercalated and deintercalated several times by bromine and iodine, followed by several cycles of nitrogen heating and fluorination at 350 to 370 C. Electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of this fiber depend on the fluorination process and the fluorine content of the graphite fluoride product. However, these properties are between those of graphite and those of PTFE (Teflon). Therefore, it is considered to be a semiplastic. The physical properties suggest that this new material may have many new and unexplored applications. For example, it can be a thermally conductive electrical insulator. Its coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be adjusted to match that of silicon, and therefore, it can be a heat sinking printed circuit board which is CTE compatible with silicon. Using these fibers in printed circuit boards may provide improved electrical performance and reliability of the electronics on the board over existing designs. Also, since it releases fluorine at 300 C or higher, it can be used as a material to store fluorine and to conduct fluorination. This application may simplify the fluorination process and reduce the risk of handling fluorine.

PBI was originally developed for space suits. In 1980, the need for an alternative to asbestos and stricter government anti-pollution standards led to commercialization of the fire blocking fiber. PBI is used for auto racing driver suits and aircraft seat covers. The fiber does not burn in air, is durable and easily maintained. It has been specified by a number of airliners and is manufactured by Hoechst-Celanese Corporation.

This book provides basic information for new board of education members on a wide range of issues that have turned up on board of education agendas in New Jersey over the past 10 years. Separate sections are devoted to the following: (1) the New Jersey School Boards Association's code of ethics for board members; (2) the governance of New Jersey…

Although specialty board certification by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) has been a valued standard for decades, the vast majority of counseling psychologists do not pursue board certification in the specialty. The present article provides a brief history of board certification in general and some historical information about…

The governance role of school boards is not new. Local school boards have governed education in Canada since the 19th century. However, significant forces are impacting on school boards and how they enact their roles and responsibilities. In this article, the authors want to look at the growing pressures on school boards, to actively acknowledge…

This publication, a resource for board of education presidents in the State of New Jersey, covers a wide range of topics pertaining to the board president's duties. Separate sections are devoted to the following: (1) the code of ethics for New Jersey board members; (2) statutory responsibilities of a board of education president; (3) an opinion…

The operators of telecommunications have targeted their efforts towards realizing applications using broad band fiber optics systems in the access network. Thus, a new concept related to the implementation of fiber optic transmission systems, named FITL (Fiber In The Loop) has appeared. The fiber optic transmission systems have been extensively used for realizing the transport and intercommunication of the public telecommunication network, as well as for assuring the access to the telecommunication systems of the great corporations. Still, the segment of the residential users and small corporations did not benefit on large scale of this technology implementation. For the purpose of defining fiber optic applications, more types of architectures were conceived, like: bus, ring, star, tree. In the case of tree-like networks passive splitters (that"s where the name of PON comes from - Passive Optical Network-), which reduce significantly the costs of the fiber optic access, by separating the costs of the optical electronic components. That's why the passive fiber optics architectures (PON represent a viable solution for realizing the access at the user's loop. The main types of fiber optics architectures included in this work are: FTTC (Fiber To The Curb); FTTB (Fiber To The Building); FTTH (Fiber To The Home).

This report discusses the plan for technology transfer of building materials developed by ECOMAT to the commercial private sector. Some of the materials are briefly discussed like foams, fiber reinforcement, fly ash development, and polymer fillers.

The CW 25.6 W output power with a slope efficiency of 30.6% respected to the pump power from a CW single transverse mode all-fiber Tm3+-doped Silica Fiber Laser is reported. The all-fiber laser is made up by progressively splicing the pigtail fiber, matched FBG fiber and Tm fiber. The reflective FBG and Tm3+-doped fiber end Fresnel reflection build up the laser resonance cavity. Due to the multi-mode FBG as the reflective mirror, the output laser spectrum is multi-peaks at high output power, but the spectrum width is less than 2 nm at 1.94 μm. We estimate the beam quality to be M 2 = 2.39, clearly indicating nearly diffraction-limited beam propagation.

... polyacrylonitrile fiber (Board Order 1868, 77 FR 69435, 11/19/2012). Board Order 1868 did not include authority to... Manufacturing Authority), Opening of Comment Period on New Evidence On November 7, 2012, the Foreign-Trade Zones... submission to the FTZ Board (incorporating information from TTA) that included new evidence in response...

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board gathers for a second day for its third public hearing, held in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The CAIB was set up to examine STS-107 and analyze exploratory tests. Navy Admiral Harold W. 'Hal' Gehman Jr. was designated as the Chairman of the Board. From left to right in this photo sit Board Members Steven B. Wallace, Scott Hubbard, Dr. John Logsdon, Rear Admiral Stephen Turcotte, Hal Gehman, General Duane Deal, Dr. Douglas Osheroff, and Maj. General Kenneth W. Hess. Not shown are Maj. General John Barry, Dr. James N. Hallock, Roger Tetrault, Dr. Sheila Widnall, and Dr. Sally Ride. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation

This 1994 report of the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council summarizes the charter and organization of the board, activities and membership, major and short reports, and congressional testimony. A cumulative bibliography of the Space Studies (formerly Space Science) Board and its committees is provided. An appendix contains reports of the panel to review Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) plans. Major reports cover scientific opportunities in the human exploration of space, the dichotomy between funding and effectiveness in space physics, an integrated strategy for the planetary sciences for the years 1995-2010, and Office of Naval Research (ONR) research opportunities in upper atmospheric sciences. Short reports cover utilization of the space station, life and microgravity sciences and the space station program, Space Infrared Telescope Facility and the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, and the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility and Cassini Saturn Probe.

The widespread use of asbestos for several decades in building construction has created major public health concerns for state governments. If asbestos is not thoroughly bound in cement, plaster, resin or some other stable material, it will flake and powder, releasing countless microscopic fibers into the air. Asbestos fibers penetrate deep into…

We developed the on-board BOCDA system for airplane and verified the flight environmental stability and durability through environmental test. The on-board BOCDA system adopted the polarization diversity technique and temporal gating technique to improve robustness of the BOCDA system. We successfully measured distribution of fiber Brillouin gain spectrum over 500m measurement range with 50mm spatial resolution, 60Hz sampling rate and +/-13μ strain accuracy. Furthermore, we considered flight test to verify the validity of the BOCDA system. From these results, it was confirmed that BOCDA system has potential to be applied to an aircraft structure health monitoring system.

In this work we apply network theory to detect in a quantitative fashion some of the characters of the system composed by companies and their boards of directors. Modelling this as a bipartite graph, we can derive two networks (one for the companies and one for the directors) and apply to them the standard graph analysis instruments. The emerging picture shows an environment where the exchange of information and mutual influences, conveyed by interlocks between boards, is predominant. Such a result should be taken into account when modelling this system.

, the agency draws on the experience of members to create best practices for the EM SSAB, as a unique form of public involvement. Four areas that have been identified by local board Chairpersons as important to their local board operations are - Enhancing communication between technical and non-technical board members; - Building on common ground toward recommendations; - Public involvement in EM SSAB local board activities; - The EM SSAB annual work plan process. The first three areas are addressed below by current or former chairpersons of the EM SSAB: Ralph Phelps, former Chairperson of the Northern New Mexico Citizens' Advisory Board; Susan Leckband, former Chairperson and current Vice Chairperson of the Hanford Advisory Board; and Val Francis, Vice Chairperson of the Portsmouth (PORTS) SSAB. In addition, Eric Roberts, facilitator of the PORTS SSAB, has contributed to the section on public involvement. In a separate paper for this session, Ralph Young, Chairperson of the Paducah Citizens' Advisory Board addresses the EM SSAB annual work plan process. (authors)

MUSIC FACILITY GUIDELINES WERE DEVELOPED FOR THE MUSIC EDUCATOR, ADMINISTRATOR, BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE ARCHITECT IN DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING NEW OR REMODELING EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDINGS. SUBJECT AREA COVERAGE INCLUDES MUSIC FACILITIES AT ALL LEVELS FROM THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY. THE CONTENTS ARE DIVIDED INTO THE FOLLOWING…

Mineral carbonation appears to be one of the plausible methods for the practical fixation of CO2. Carbon consumption and sequestration by carbonation reactions involving alkaline elements such as Ca and Mg have been developed. Suitable feedstocks for CO2 sequestration are mineral carbonation using Ca/Mg-silicates. Asbestos-containing cement board waste consists of chrysotile asbestos which is one of the Mg-silicate and cement. Chrysotile is one of the raw materials to form carbonate mineral for CO2 fixation in previous studies and cement contains a quantity of calcium which is able to react with CO2. Generally, asbestos-containing cement board waste is dumped in controlled waste sites in South Korea. However, this cannot be regarded as an ultimate solution because dispersion of asbestos fibers in the air is an intrinsic risk during dumping operations and in the long-term management. An alternative solution is thermal transformation of asbestos-containing material into non-hazardous phase. Therefore, the aims of the study were to sequester CO2 using asbestos-containing cement board waste via mineral carbonation and to detoxify chrysotile asbestos in cement board waste via heat treatment. Two steps of experiments were designed: (1) synthesis of a carbonate mineral (i.e., calcite and magnesite), via the physicochemical reactions of fragmented cement board with CO2 and (2) transformation of fibrous asbestos into non-fibrous material through heat treatment. Physicochemical and mineralogical properties of cement board waste were investigated by TG-DTA , XRF, XRD, SEM, and EDS analyses. XRD analysis showed that the calcite (CaCO3) was formed after reaction of fragmented cement board with CO2. Mineralogical characteristics showed minerals such as chrysotile [Mg3Si2O5(OH)4] and calcite (CaCO3) in the reactions of fragmented cement board with CO2 were transformed into calcite (CaCO3), calcium oxide (CaO), and quartz (SiO2) by heat treatment. SEM-EDS analyses showed that

The HERMES experiment located at DESY measures scattering reactions of 27.5 GeV positrons or electrons impinging on a gaseous hydrogen target. The target will be surrounded by a recoil detector dedicated to measure recoiling nucleons. This detector will operate a scintillating fiber tracker to identify and track protons for momenta up to 1400 MeV/ c. Scintillating fibers are an ideal tool to combine energy and position measurements for charged particles in an intermediate momentum range. They offer a high granularity while keeping the mechanical construction and material density at a minimum. Modules build from Kuraray SCSF-78 fibers of 1 mm diameter were tested at a secondary beam of positive charge at various momenta from 300 to 900 MeV/ c. Their read-out was performed using customized VME modules with front-end boards based on GASSIPLEX chips. The energy response and particle identification properties of the modules were tested. The results obtained in this study meet the specified design criteria.

The reuse of comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin with various granularities gathered from printed circuit manufacturing residues was investigated. As fillers, these residues were converted into polymeric composite board by an extrusion and injection process using polypropylene as a bonding agent. The mechanical properties of the reproduced composite board were examined by considering the effects of mass fraction and glass-fiber distribution. Interfacial-layer micrograph analysis of the composite material fracture surface was used to study the fiber reinforcement mechanism. Results showed that using comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin as a filler material greatly enhanced the performance properties of the composite board. Although the length and diameter of filler varied, these variations had no appreciable effect on the mechanical properties of the processed board. Maximum values of 48.30 MPa for flexural strength, 31.34 MPa for tensile strength, and 31.34 J/m for impact strength were achieved from a composite board containing mass fractions of 30, 10, and 20% glass-fiber-reinforced resin waste, respectively. It was found that the maximum amount of recyclate that could be added to a composite board was 30% of weight. Beyond these percentages, the materials blend became unmanageable and the mixture less amenable to impregnation with fiber. Presented studies indicated that comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin waste-filled polypropylene composites are promising candidates for structural applications where high stiffness and fracture resistance are required. PMID:20480852

The Southern Oklahoma Technology Center, a vocational and technical school district, recently spearheaded an initiative to allow members to use laptops at home and during meetings to process board agenda items, receive video and multimedia presentations, and access the school's local-area network and the Internet. (MLH)

This reference book on collective bargaining is specifically designed to meet the needs of Wisconsin school boards as they conduct collective bargaining with their employees. The first four chapters supply background information necessary to understand Wisconsin's Municipal Employment Relations Act. Chapter 4 explains the scope of bargaining and…

When Peter Meyer moved to Hudson, New York and placed his child in the local school system, he was shocked at the abysmal quality of education there. He was even more surprised to learn that there was very little movement for reform. He joined the school board with the hopes of enacting new policies, but found instead that it was an ineffecient…

Web Operational Status Boards (WebOSB)is a web-based application designed to acquire, display, and update highly dynamic status information between multiple users and jurisdictions. WebOSB is able to disseminate real-time status informationsupport the timely sharing of informationwith constant, dynamic updates via personal computers and the Internet between emergency operations centers (EOCs), incident command centers, and to users outside the EOC who need to know the information (hospitals, shelters, schools). The WebOSB application far exceeds outdated information-sharingmore » methods used by emergency workers: whiteboards, Word and Excel documents, or even locality-specific Web sites. WebOSBs capabilities include the following elements: - Secure access. Multiple users can access information on WebOSB from any personal computer with Internet access and a secure ID. Privileges are use to control access and distribution of status information and to identify users who are authorized to add or edit information. - Simultaneous update. WebOSB provides options for users to add, display, and update dynamic information simultaneously at all locations involved in the emergency management effort, A single status board can be updated from multiple locations enabling shelters and hospitals to post bed availability or list decontamination capability. - On-the-fly modification. Allowing the definition of an existing status board to be modified on-the-fly can be an asset during an emergency, where information requirements can change quickly. The status board designer feature allows an administrator to quickly define, modi,, add to, and implement new status boards in minutes without needing the help of Web designers and computer programmers. - Publisher/subscriber notification. As a subscriber, each user automatically receives notification of any new information relating to specific status boards. The publisher/subscriber feature automatically notified each user of any

Healthcare managers are making quicker, riskier decisions in an increasingly competitive and regulated environment. Questions have been raised regarding the accountability and performance of boards of these organizations, as board members are not always selected based on their competencies to guide such decisions. Adapting mission and strategy and monitoring organizational performance require information that boards get mostly from management. The purpose of this study was to examine the information that boards regularly get to carry out their functions. I obtained board documents from four not-for-profit hospitals and health systems in different boroughs of New York City. At each institution, I conducted one-hour interviews with at least three board members and three top managers. I also attended at least one board or executive committee meeting and one additional meeting, usually of the finance committee. Principal findings were that the boards get too much data, the same data that management gets, and little comparative data on performance of similar benchmarked organizations. Board members and managers are satisfied with the information that board members get and have no plans to improve their system of shaping, or the quality of, information. Key recommendations to boards and managers are: (1) boards must take greater responsibility for identifying the information that they get and how they wish to get it, (2) managers must ensure that measurable objectives are developed, against which organizational performance can be evaluated, (3) boards must get information that is targeted and shaped to better fit board functions, (4) managers must develop information sets for main service lines, (5) boards must get information on the expectations and satisfaction levels of key stakeholders, (6) boards must get better and more focused information on performance of benchmarked institutions, and (7) boards must get less hospital operating data on a monthly basis. PMID

Discusses the importance of developing students' building awareness by exploring logos, or buildings that symbolize a country, to learn about architecture and the cultures in different countries. Explores categories of buildings. Includes examples of logos from around the world. (CMK)

The authors examined the feasibility of using seismic reflections to image the upper 10 m of the earth`s surface quickly and effectively by rigidly attaching geophones to a wooden board at 5-cm intervals. The shallow seismic reflection information obtained was equivalent to control-test data gathered using classic, single-geophone plants with identical 5-cm intervals. Tests were conducted using both a .22-caliber rifle source and a 30.06-rifle source. In both cases, the results were unexpected: in response to the use of small, high-resolution seismic sources at offsets of a few meters, the authors found little intergeophone interference that could be attributed to the presence of the board. Furthermore, they noted very little difference in a 60-ms intra-alluvial reflection obtained using standard geophone plants versus that obtained using board-mounted geophones. For both sources, amplitude spectra were nearly identical for data gathered with and without the board. With the 30.06 source, filtering at high-frequency passbands revealed a wave mode of unknown origin that appears to be related to the presence of the board; however, this mode did not interfere with the usefulness of the shallow-reflection data. The results of these experiments suggest that deploying large numbers of closely spaced geophones simultaneously--perhaps even automatically--is possible. Should this method of planting geophones prove practical after further testing, the cost-effectiveness of very shallow seismic reflection imaging may be enhanced. The technique also may be useful at greater reflector depths in situations employing bunched geophones. However, this approach may not be applicable in all circumstances because larger energy sources may induce interference between the geophones and produce undesirable modes of motion within the medium holding the geophones.

The surveys for sensitivities to fibers and potential impacts from fiber induced failures begins with a review of the survey work completed to date and then describes an impact study involving four industrial installations located in Virginia. The observations and results from both the surveys and the study provide guidelines for future efforts. The survey work was done with three broad objectives: (1) identify the pieces of potentially vulnerable equipment as candidates for test; (2) support the transfer function work by gaining an understanding of how fibers could get into a building; and (3) support the economic analysis by understanding what would happen if fibers precipitated a failure in an item of equipment.

This report contains articles that provide guidelines for running board of education meetings and discusses the roles of superintendents and boards in decision making. The articles discuss (1) the public relations value of well-run board meetings, (2) the importance of following good parliamentary procedure, and (3) the preparation and…

Much research continues to develop renewable, recyclable, sustainable, and bio-based products from agricultural feed stocks such as cotton and flax fiber. Primary requirements are sustainable production, low cost, and consistent and known quality. To better understand these products, research contin...

... meeting of the Board will be held at the offices of the Farm Credit Administration in McLean, Virginia, on... Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting of the Board will be open to...

In an interview, a prominent college trustee discusses strategies for increasing ethnic and cultural diversity on governing boards, the relationship between board diversity and institutional policies, effects on the student body, the responsibility of the board, and the challenges and rewards of trusteeship. (MSE)

In this article, the author discusses the need of administrative support for board members. An effective board services office can help a lot in attracting and retaining community leaders. Board members need administrative support to help them manage events, records, communications, scheduling, correspondence and constituent service. In small to…

In November 1992, Vista (California) residents elected two conservative Christians to four-year terms on the school board. Controversial topics at board meetings divided the community. In a November 1994 recall election two conservatives were replaced by two moderates. An interview with the board president and superintendent describes how school…

..., Ronald Reagan Building, Bureau for Food Security, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Room 2.12-001, Washington...; ] Agency for International Development Notice of Meeting: Board for International Food and Agricultural... the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The meeting will be held from...

... Reagan Building, Bureau for Food Security, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Room 2.09-067, Washington, DC...; ] AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Notice of October 15 Board for International Food and Agricultural... meeting of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). Date: Tuesday,...

... International Development, Ronald Reagan Building, Bureau for Food Security, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room.... AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Board for International Food and Agricultural Development; Notice of... the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The meeting will be held from...

This paper is the third in a series of reports and initiatives in AGB's Cost Project. The project is designed to build governing board capacity to monitor institutional costs effectively and strategically. Costs and productivity are not new issues in higher education. AGB and its member governing boards have long recognized the importance of…

On February 14, a former graduate student at Northern Illinois University (NIU) entered a campus building and shot 21 people, wounding five fatally, before he shot and killed himself. This article presents an interview with Cherilyn G. Murer, the Chair of the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees, on the actions taken by the board and the…

A study described machine operators' problem-solving actions at a computerized circuit-board assembly machine in a small manufacturing plant located on the West Coast. Participants were a machine operator and his supervisor, both from Vietnam, who were building large prototype boards for a major computer corporation. Over a 6.5 minute interval,…

This document describes the criminal and legal liability of community college presidents and board members in such areas as contracts,civil rights, and fiduciary responsibilities. Also described are the defenses which universities ordinarily build to protect their employees from these liabilities. These defenses include the sovereign or charitable…

42. View of CSMR room equipment status board and operators console with two phone links to MWOC in transmitter building no. 102. - Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, One mile west of mile marker 293.5 on Parks Highway, 5 miles southwest of Anderson, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK

We generalize the concept of optical Galton board (OGB), first proposed by Bouwmeester et al. [Phys. Rev. A 61, 013410 (2000)], by introducing the possibility of nonlinear self-phase modulation on the wave function during the walker evolution. If the original Galton board illustrates classical diffusion, the OGB, which can be understood as a grid of Landau-Zener crossings, illustrates the influence of interference on diffusion, and is closely connected with the quantum walk. Our nonlinear generalization of the OGB shows new phenomena, the most striking of which is the formation of nondispersive pulses in the field distribution (solitonlike structures). These exhibit a variety of dynamical behaviors, including ballistic motion, dynamical localization, nonelastic collisions, and chaotic behavior, in the sense that the dynamics is very sensitive to the nonlinearity strength.

Graphite fluoride fiber/polymer composite materials consist of graphite fluoride fibers in epoxy, polytetrafluoroethylene, or polyimide resin. Combines high electrical resistivity with high thermal conductivity and solves heat-transfer problems of many electrical systems. Commercially available in powder form, for use as dry lubricant or cathode material in lithium batteries. Produced by direct fluorination of graphite powder at temperature of 400 to 650 degree C. Applications include printed-circuit boards for high-density power electronics, insulators for magnetic-field cores like those found in alternators and transformers, substrates for thin-film resistors, and electrical-protection layers in aircraft de-icers.

Spaceborne Fiber Optic Data Bus (SFODB) is an IEEE 1393 compliant, gigabit per second, fiber optic network specifically designed to support the real-time, on-board data handling requirements of remote sensing spacecraft. The network is fault tolerant highly reliable, and capable of withstanding the rigors of launch and the harsh space environment. SFODB achieves this operational and environmental performance while maintaining the small size, light weight, and low power necessary for spaceborne applications. On December 9, 1998, SFODB was successfully demonstrated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

If a dam springs several leaks, there are various ways to respond. One could assiduously plug the holes, for instance. Or one could correct the underlying weaknesses, a more sensible approach. When it comes to corporate governance, for too long we have relied on the first approach. But the causes of many governance problems lie well below the surface--specifically, in critical relationships that are not structured to support the players involved. In other words, the very foundation of the system is flawed. And unless we correct the structural problems, surface changes are unlikely to have a lasting impact. When shareholders, management, and the board of directors work together as a system, they provide a powerful set of checks and balances. But the relationship between shareholders and directors is fraught with weaknesses, undermining the entire system's equilibrium. As the authors explain, the exchange of information between these two players is poor. Directors, though elected by shareholders to serve as their agents, aren't individually accountable to the investors. And shareholders--for a variety of reasons--have failed to exert much influence over boards. In the end, directors are left with the Herculean task of faithfully representing shareholders whose preferences are unclear, and shareholders have little say about who represents them and few mechanisms through which to create change. The authors suggest several ways to improve the relationship between shareholders and directors: Increase board accountability by recording individual directors' votes on key corporate resolutions; separate the positions of chairman and CEO; reinvigorate shareholders; and give boards funding to pay for outside experts who can provide perspective on crucial issues. PMID:12632807

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF EAST ELEVATION OF POWER BUILDING WITH ADDITION. NOTE WINDOW OPENINGS, WHICH ARE MERELY OPENINGS IN THE BOARD AND BATTEN SIDING AND REVEAL THE CONCRETE BLOCK CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING. - Radar Station B-71, Power Building, Coastal Drive, Klamath, Del Norte County, CA

Fact sheet on manufacturing filler during paper manufacturing written for the NICE3 Program. With its new fiber loading process, Voith Sulzer, Inc., is greatly improving the efficiency of paper production and recycling. Fiber loading produces precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) filler in the pulp recycling process at costs below conventional means. Fiber loading allows papermakers to use as much filler, like PCC, as possible because it costs 80% less than fiber. In addition, increased filler and fines retention due to fiber loading reduces the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, deinking sludge, and other waste while substantially lowering energy costs. Currently, the most efficient way to produce PCC as filler is to make it in a satellite plant adjacent to a paper mill. Satellite plants exist near large scale paper mills (producing 700 tons per day) because the demand at large mills justifies building a costly ($15 million, average) satellite plant. This new fiber loading process combines the PCC manufacturing technology used in a satellite plant with the pulp processing operations of a paper mill. It is 33% less expensive to augment an existing paper mill with fiber loading technology than to build a satellite plant for the same purpose. This technology is applicable to the manufacturing of all printing and writing paper, regardless of the size or capacity of the paper mill.

The paper proposes the measurement system for the fiber positioning unit of LAMOST(Large Sky Area of Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscope Telescope). It consists of an area CCD sensor, an image acquisition card, and a lens. The fiber is illuminated by light source from one end. The end of the fiber on the focal plate is imaged on the area CCD sensor by the lens. The image of the fiber end is acquired by the area CCD sensor, and transferred into a computer by the image grabber. Some pro-processed methods are used to process the digital image of the fiber. According to further digital image processing, the position of the fiber is obtained. The paper focuses on the calibration method of the digital area CCD camera. The measurement system calibrates the camera with the calibration board. The calibration board has some holes illuminated by an area LED. The positions of those holes are pre-measured precisely. Then, the systematic error of the measurement is figured out through the calibration procession. The optical aberration is fitted by the quartic surface. The measurement system can measure the position of the fiber on the positioning unit precisely. The precision of the measurement system is 0.010mm.

The goal of the Advanced On-Board Processor (AOP) development program is to design, build, and flight qualify a highly reliable, moderately priced, digital computer for application on a variety of spacecraft. Included in this development program is the preparation of a complete support software package which consists of an assembler, simulator, loader, system diagnostic, operational executive, and many useful subroutines. The AOP hardware/software system is an extension of the On-Board Processor (OBP) which was developed for general purpose use on earth orbiting spacecraft with its initial application being on-board the fourth Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO-C). Although the OBP possesses the significant features that are required for space application, however, when operating at 100% duty cycle the OBP is too power-consuming for use on many smaller spacecraft. Computer volume will be minimized by implementing the processor and input/output portions of the machine with large scale integrated circuits. Power consumption will be reduced through the use of plated wire and, in some cases, semiconductor memory elements.

In the wake of meltdowns at WorldCom, Tyco, and Enron, enormous attention has been focused on the companies' boards. It seems inconceivable that business disasters of such magnitude could happen without gross or even criminal negligence on the part of board members. And yet a close examination of those boards reveals no broad pattern of incompetence or corruption. In fact, they followed most of the accepted standards for board operations: Members showed up for meetings; they had money invested in the company; audit committees, compensation committees, and codes of ethics were in place; the boards weren't too small or too big, nor were they dominated by insiders. In other words, they passed the tests that would normally be applied to determine whether a board of directors was likely to do a good job. And that's precisely what's so scary, according to corporate governance expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who suggests that it's time for some new thinking about how corporate boards operate and are evaluated. He proposes thinking not only about how to structure the board's work but also about how to manage it as a social system. Good boards are, very simply, high-functioning work groups. They're distinguished by a climate of respect, trust, and candor among board members and between the board and management. Information is shared openly and on time; emergent political factions are quickly eliminated. Members feel free to challenge one another's assumptions and conclusions, and management encourages lively discussion of strategic issues. Directors feel a responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the board's performance. In addition, good boards assess their own performance, both collectively and individually. PMID:12227143

The governing board's role in health care is not changing, but new competitive forces necessitate a refinement of the board's approach to fulfilling its role. In a free-standing, community, not-for-profit hospital, the board functions as though it were the "owner." Although it does not truly own the facility in the legal sense, the board does have legal, fiduciary, and financial responsibilities conferred on it by the state. In a religious-sponsored facility, the board fulfills these same obligations on behalf of the sponsoring institute, subject to the institute's reserved powers. In multi-institutional systems, the hospital board's power and authority depend on the role granted it by the system. Boards in all types of facilities are currently faced with the following challenges: Fulfilling their basic responsibilities, such as legal requirements, financial duties, and obligations for the quality of care. Encouraging management and the board itself to "think strategically" in attacking new competitive market forces while protecting the organization's traditional mission and values. Assessing recommended strategies in light of consequences if constituencies think the organization is abandoning its commitments. Boards can take several steps to match their mode of operation with the challenges of the new environment. Boards must rededicate themselves to the hospital's mission. Trustees must expand their understanding of health care trends and issues and their effect on the organization. Boards must evaluate and help strengthen management's performance, rather than acting as a "watchdog" in an adversarial position. Boards must think strategically, rather than focusing solely on operational details. Boards must evaluate the methods they use for conducting business. PMID:10280356

A hospital board has an obligation to provide services in the community but it is essential that those extramural services act in collaboration with and not in competition with all other services in the community. In particular, it is essential that we maintain the primacy of general practice and in return the general practitioner must accept full responsibility for the care of his patients in their homes, rehabilitation and encouraging the maximum possible independence on the part of the patients and their families must be the constant theme of the extramural services. PMID:6950292

Insulation boards suitable for buildings with solid masonry walls that lack cavities necessary for loose-fill insulation have been fabricated and tested for use in developing countries. The boards were made at low density, 80 to 160 kg/m{sup 3}, and have suitable thermal properties for an air-based insulation, with a thermal resistivity of 21 to 28 m{center_dot}K/W [R3 to R4 per inch (h{center_dot}ft{sup 2}{center_dot}{degree}F/Btu{center_dot}in)]. The initial effort focused on straw insulation boards suitable for use in buildings with solid masonry walls that lack cavities necessary for loose-fill insulation. The possible methods of fabrication initially evaluated were (1) containing the straw in panels with wire and battens, (2) pulping the straw, and (3) binding with adhesive. Starch, polyvinyl acetate (PVA), and sodium silicate were evaluated as adhesives for both uncut and shredded straw. Methods of application included spraying, foaming, and dipping, at various adhesive-loading rates. Small samples were formed at a range of densities and tested for structural and thermal properties. All three approaches can succeed structurally and thermally, but are unable to compete economically with existing insulation board. A final batch of boards was made by spraying methane di-isocyanate (MDI), a synthetic resin, into a rotating tumbler that contained shredded straw. The boards, made over a range of densities and resin contents, and using straw with and without the fine particles, were tested thermally and structurally. Good mechanical properties were obtained at resin contents as low as 2% by mass. At densities of 128 and 160 kg/m{sup 3}, the boards had thermal resistivities of 24 to 26 m{sup 2}{center_dot}K/W. The pressure required to compress the 160 kg/m{sup 3} boards to 10% of their original thickness was approximately 100 kPa, and the modulus of rupture in bending was about 340 kPa. Removing the fine particles from the straw improved board strength markedly. The

Historic Board, which has jurisdiction in the NHP. The Historic Board was cooperative with any exterior renovations as long as they were not changing the existing aesthetics of the property. If we were replacing a rooftop condenser it needed to be placed where the existing rooftop condenser was located. Receiving proper approval from the Historic Board for any external energy conservation measures was known by all the participating contractors. One area of the retrofits that was contentious regarded venting of the new HVAC equipment. Installing external stacks was not allowed so the contractors had to negotiate with the Historic Board regarding the proper way to vent the equipment that met the needs mechanically and aesthetically. Overall BetterBuildings Lowell was successful at implementing energy and cost saving measures into 31 commercial properties located within the NHP. The 31 retrofits had 1,554,768 square feet of commercial and multifamily housing and a total predicted energy savings exceeding 22,869 a year. Overall the City of Lowell achieved its target goals and is satisfied with the accomplishments of the BetterBuildings program. The City will continue to pursue energy efficient programs and projects.

Wood pulp fibers are a unique reinforcing material as they are non-hazardous, renewable, and readily available at relatively low cost compared to other commercially available fibers. Today, pulp fiber-cement composites can be found in products such as extruded non-pressure pipes and non-structural building materials, mainly thin-sheet products. Although natural fibers have been used historically to reinforce various building materials, little scientific effort has been devoted to the examination of natural fibers to reinforce engineering materials until recently. The need for this type of fundamental research has been emphasized by widespread awareness of moisture-related failures of some engineered materials; these failures have led to the filing of national- and state-level class action lawsuits against several manufacturers. Thus, if pulp fiber-cement composites are to be used for exterior structural applications, the effects of cyclical wet/dry (rain/heat) exposure on performance must be known. Pulp fiber-cement composites have been tested in flexure to examine the progression of strength and toughness degradation. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), a three-part model describing the mechanisms of progressive degradation has been proposed: (1) initial fiber-cement/fiber interlayer debonding, (2) reprecipitation of crystalline and amorphous ettringite within the void space at the former fiber-cement interface, and (3) fiber embrittlement due to reprecipitation of calcium hydroxide filling the spaces within the fiber cell wall structure. Finally, as a means to mitigate kraft pulp fiber-cement composite degradation, the effects of partial portland cement replacement with various supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has been investigated for their effect on mitigating kraft pulp fiber-cement composite mechanical property degradation (i.e., strength and toughness

The fiber tracker consists of 8 concentric carbon fiber cylinders of varying diameters, from 399mm to 1032.2mm and two different lengths. 1.66 and 2.52 meters. Each completed cylinder is covered over the entire o.d. with scintillating fiber ribbons with a connector on each ribbon. These ribbons are axial (parallel to the beam line) at one end and stereo (at 3 deg. to the beam line) at the other. The ribbon connectors have dowel pins which are used to match with the connectors on the wave guide ribbons. These dowel pins are also used during the nesting operation, locating and positioning measurements. The nesting operation is the insertion of one cylinder into another, aligning them with one another and fastening them together into a homogeneous assembly. For ease of assembly. the nesting operation is accomplished working from largest diameter to smallest. Although the completed assembly of all 8 cylinders glued and bolted together is very stiff. individual cylinders are relatively flexible. Therefore. during this operation, No.8 must be supported in a manner which maintains its integrity and yet allows the insertion of No.7. This is accomplished by essentially building a set of dummy end plates which replicate a No.9 cylinder. These end plates are mounted on a wheeled cart that becomes the nesting cart. Provisions for a protective cover fastened to these rings has been made and will be incorporated in finished product. These covers can be easily removed for access to No.8 and/or the connection of No.8 to No.9. Another wheeled cart, transfer cart, is used to push a completed cylinder into the cylinder(s) already mounted in the nesting cart.

Utilizing round optical fibers as communication channels in optical communication networks presents the problem of obtaining a high efficiency coupling between the optical fiber and the laser. A laser is made an integral part of the optical fiber channel by either diffusing active material into the optical fiber or surrounding the optical fiber with the active material. Oscillation within the active medium to produce lasing action is established by grating the optical fiber so that distributed feedback occurs.

On 1 July 2010, the first AGU Board of Directors took office. The board is composed of the president, president-elect, immediate past president, general secretary, international secretary, development board chair, six members elected by the Union membership, vice chair of the AGU Council, and the executive director. Two additional members may be nominated by the AGU president and approved by the board. The creation of the board is a result of the new governance structure approved by the AGU membership in November 2009. The board is responsible for the business aspects of the Union, while an expanded AGU Council will focus on science issues. Council members will be introduced in a future issue of Eos.

IBACOS researched the constructability and viability issues of using high performance windows as one component of a larger approach to building houses that achieve the Building America 70% energy savings target.

The term intelligent buildings refers to today's sophisticated living environments that must support communication, energy, fire and security protection systems. This book examines a variety of topics including building automation, information technology, and systems and facilities management.

This program was directed to a new and generic approach to the development of new materials with novel and interesting properties, and to the precision fabrication of these materials in one and two-dimensional forms. Advanced deposition processes and microfabrication technology were used to produce fibers and grids of metals, semiconductors, ceramics, and mixtures of controlled composition and structure, and with new and interesting mechanical and physical properties. Deposition processes included electron beam evaporation, co-deposition of mixtures by dual electron beam evaporation, thermal evaporation, sputtering of a single element or compound, sputtering of a single element in a gaseous atmosphere to produce compounds, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), and selective tungsten chemical vapor deposition (W-CVD). The approach was to use the deposition processes in coordination with patterns generated by optical lithography to produce fibers with transverse dimensions in the micron range, and lengths from less than a millimeter to several centimeters. The approach is also applicable to the production of two-dimensional grids and particulates of controlled sizes and geometries.

The state of the art of PAN based carbon fiber manufacture and the science of fiber behavior is surveyed. A review is given of the stabilization by oxidation and the subsequent carbonization of fibers, of the apparent structure of fibers deduced from scanning electron microscopy, from X-ray scattering, and from similarities with soft carbons, and of the known relations between fiber properties and heat treatment temperature. A simplified model is invoked to explain the electrical properties of fibers and recent quantum chemical calculations on atomic clusters are used to elucidate some aspects of fiber conductivity. Some effects of intercalation and oxidative modification of finished fibers are summarized.

Assuming on-board satellite high-bandwidth communications will utilize passive optical fibers as a communication channel, this work focused on the impact of gamma and mixed gamma/neutron radiation on transmission through single-mode and multi-mode ytterbium-doped single-mode fibers operated as amplifiers for a 1060-nm light source. Standard optical patch cables were evaluated along with active ytterbium -doped double-clad fibers in the same radiation environment. Exposure times and signal transmission wavelength variations were used to investigate the degradation of the fibers exposed to total doses above 100 krad(Si). Further, the effect on the amplified signal gain was studied for the ytterbium -doped fibers. The increased attenuation in the fibers across a broad wavelength range in response to multiple levels of gamma radiation exposure, along with the effect that increased attenuation has on the actively pumped ytterbium -doped fiber amplifier performance was evaluated. Ytterbium-doped optical fibers demonstrate sensitivity to gamma and mixed neutron/gamma radiation exposures that is independent of the operational configuration of the fiber during irradiation. No identifiable dose rate damage production mechanism was encountered. However, fiber damage recovery following irradiation was found to be dependent on the radiation dose rate.

Health problems related to school buildings can be categorized in five major areas: sick-building syndrome; health-threatening building materials; environmental hazards such as radon gas and asbestos; lead poisoning; and poor indoor air quality due to smoke, chemicals, and other pollutants. This paper provides an overview of these areas,…

This paper describes a novel packaging design for a lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator. The modulator is mounted to the bottom of a miniature carrier using elastic supports to minimize transmission of bending, random vibration and shock loads. Optical fibers are threaded from the modulator ends to the outside world via tubular feed- throughs located to allow for thermal expansion of the carrier without inducing stress on the fibers. An electric current board is attached to the carrier, and wire bonds from the board to the modulator provide the required voltages. The total package envelope is less than 0.41 in3 in volume. A major design goal was to achieve a hermetically sealed package, using all-metallic seals wherever possible. The package cover is resistance-seam-welded over the carrier top. However, as an intermediate step in the development process, the optical fibers are sealed with epoxy at the feed-through locations, rather than with solder seals to metallized fibers, which would provide a true hermetic seal. The paper provides supporting analysis performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design, including the epoxy seals, as well as experimental test results which validate the design.

The concentration of airborne asbestos in buildings and its implication for the health of building occupants is a major public health issue. A total of 2892 air samples from 315 public, commercial, residential, school, and university buildings has been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The buildings that were surveyed were the subject of litigation related to suits alleging the general building occupants were exposed to a potential health hazard as a result of exposure to the presence of asbestos containing materials (ACM). The average concentration of all asbestos structures was 0.02 structures/ml (s/ml) and the average concentration of asbestos greater than or equal to 5 microns long was 0.00013 fibers/ml (f/ml). The concentration of asbestos was higher in schools than in other buildings. In 48% of indoor samples and 75% of outdoor samples, no asbestos fibers were detected. The observed airborne concentration in 74% of the indoor samples and 96% of the outdoor samples is below the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act clearance level of 0.01 s/ml. Finally, using those fibers which could be seen optically, all indoor samples and all outdoor samples are below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure level of 0.1 f/ml for fibers greater than or equal to 5 microns in length. These results provide substantive verification of the findings of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public building study which found very low ambient concentrations of asbestos fibers in buildings with ACM, irrespective of the condition of the material in the buildings.

This paper describes recent progress conducted towards the development of a miniature fiber Bragg grating sensor interrogator (FBG-Transceiver TM) system based on multi-channel integrated optic sensor (InOSense TM) microchip technology. The hybrid InOSense TM microchip technology enables the integration of all of the functionalities, both passive and active, of conventional bench top FBG sensor interrogator systems, packaged in a miniaturized, low power operation, 2-cm x 5-cm package suitable for the long-term structural health monitoring in applications where size, weight, and power are critical for operation. The FBG-Transceiver system uses active optoelectronic components monolithically integrated to the InOSense TM microchip, a microprocessor controlled signal processing electronics board capable of processing the FBG sensors signals related to stress-strain and temperature as well as vibration and acoustics. The FBG-Transceiver TM system represents a new, reliable, highly robust technology that can be used to accurately monitor the status of an array of distributed fiber optic Bragg grating sensors installed in critical infrastructures. Its miniature package, low power operation, and state-of-the-art data communications architecture, all at a very affordable price makes it a very attractive solution for a large number of SHM/NDI applications in aerospace, naval and maritime industry, civil structures like bridges, buildings and dams, the oil and chemical industry, and for homeland security applications. The miniature, cost-efficient FBG-Transceiver TM system is poised to revolutionize the field of structural health monitoring and nondestructive inspection market. The sponsor of this program is NAVAIR under a DOD SBIR contract.

A new optical backplane solution is proposed for high-capacity ICT apparatus. A modular, scalable and full-mesh bandwidth-upgradable optical interconnection between optoelectronic boards is guaranteed thanks to an optimized layout of standard MM 12-fiber ribbons which divides the overall backplane into several independent optical sub-circuits. The novel automated assembly procedure of fiber ribbons inside sub-circuits with a robotic work-cell is described. System validation of the optical backplane performed with commercially available MM 12-fiber transceivers @10Gb/s proved the feasibility of the proposed solution for future optical interconnections with terabit overall capacity.

We demonstrate higher-order-mode (Aeff up to ~2000 μm2) propagation in a 100 μm outer diameter pure-silica fiber with a low-index polymer jacket commonly used for fiber-laser pump-guidance. This simple structure obviates the need for complex designs deemed necessary for realizing large-mode-area fibers. Modes ranging from HE1,12 to HE1,22 were found to propagate stably over 15 m in this fiber. The index step is approximately 4 times larger than that obtained with fluorine down doping, thus the fiber supports even higher order modes, which may have implications for building rare earth doped fiber lasers or achieving enhanced dispersion tunability for high-energy fiber nonlinear phenomena. PMID:27472625

One of America's great strengths is its system of higher education comprising diverse and dynamic institutions governed by boards as varied as the institutions themselves. These boards are most often composed of lay people--not educators--who volunteer their time and energy in support of institutions they care about deeply. To govern these…

This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education addresses the role of boards of related non-profit fund-raising foundations. The booklet begins with an explanation of four advantages of such foundations to host institutions, such as separating gift funds from public funds. Suggestions for making foundation boards more effective…

The FGM concept appears promising in improving the mechanical performance and reducing production costs of fiber cement building components. However, it has not yet been broadly applied to fiber cement technology. In this study we analyze the functionally graded fiber cement concept and its potential for industrial application in Hatschek machines. The conventional Hatschek process is summarized as well as the proposed modifications to allow FGM fiber cement production. The feasibility of producing functionally graded fiber cement by grading PVA fiber content was experimentally evaluated. Thermogravimetric (TG) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis were used to evaluate fiber distribution profiles. Four-point bending tests were applied to evaluate the mechanical performance of both conventional and functionally graded composites. The results shows that grading PVA fiber content is an effective way to produce functionally graded fiber cement, allowing the reduction of the total fiber volume without significant reduction on composite MOR. TG tests were found adequate to assess fiber content at different positions in functionally graded fiber cements.

In this study, we fabricated a fiber-optic goniometer using a plastic optical fiber, a light-emitting diode, and a photodiode. The cladding of the plastic optical fiber was removed at 0.5-3mm intervals regularly to increase the bending loss of the plastic optical fiber. Also, the output voltages of the photodiode based on light intensity that measured using the fiber-optic goniometer were measured light intensities using the fiber-optic goniometer were measured to evaluate the linearity of the fiber-optic goniometer. Finally, we measured the responses of the fiber-optic goniometer for gait speeds of 3, 5, and 10 km/h using a data acquisition board and a LabVIEW program.

A description is presented of the building system program developed by the Metropolitan Toronto School Board, Study of Educational Facilities. The organization of the project is discussed, and the rationale is presented for the selection of an open systems approach to the School Board's building needs. Detailed information is given regarding the…

The purpose of developing a fiber optic analog data link is to make possible the monitoring of test article function during the exposure of that article to severe environmental conditions. The use of fiber optics to transmit the signal monitored yields immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and similar potential sources of measurement interference. This report details the design and performance of a proof-of-principle prototype of such a system. The system consists of an Analog Board, a Digital Board, and a Power Assembly. The function of the Analog Board is to monitor the test point. The Digital Board is to perform automatic setting of the bias point of the fiber optic transmitter and to control the above signal switching so that automatic calibration may be achieved.

This checklist is intended to give school governing board members a means of assessing their meeting practices. The checklist contains five categories, with a total of 80 questions, pertaining to meeting-management variables common to all governing boards. The categories include: (1) preparation for the meetings; (2) operation of the meetings; (3)…

Governing a hospital or healthcare system is a difficult and demanding job. If done properly, the organization can operate well. If the board is inept or incompetent, the organization will suffer. In this article I discuss those functions of board governance that I think are among the most important, along with some recommendations for implementing them. PMID:15966534

Provides 12 ideas for bulletin boards that can be used to teach basic skills while at the same time help students understand more about animals. Describes the activities that can be done with each bulletin board, along with a list of materials and instruction. (TW)

Peacekeeping strategies for school-board meetings include developing a code of conduct that spells out guidelines for behavior and then enforcing it; bringing in a neutral observer to help board members work through what is really worrying them; and concentrating on policy. (MLF)

This article examines the relationship between regulatory board function and citizen participation. The research indicates that public members generally prefer advisory boards, while provider members prefer quasi-judicial bodies. Implications of these findings for structuring citizen participation in the regulatory process are examined. PMID:6736596

A general purpose accelerator board and acceleration method comprising use of: one or more programmable logic devices; a plurality of memory blocks; bus interface for communicating data between the memory blocks and devices external to the board; and dynamic programming capabilities for providing logic to the programmable logic device to be executed on data in the memory blocks.

Multidimensional scaling of the decision patterns of 20 university boards of trustees placed them on two dimensions that differentiated among boards showing the following general patterns: (1) decisions concentrated on highly specific personnel matters; (2) decisions spanning a range of policy levels, from those setting broad policy through…

In the mid-1990s the Board of Directors at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) fused four separate institutes and an administrative center to form a single postsecondary institute with a broad Provincial focus. From this experience, the Board of Directors formed a governance strategy of policy and procedure…

Are the nation's 90,000-plus school board members critical players in enhancing student learning? Are they part of the problem? Are they harmless bystanders? Among the takeaways are the following: (1) Board members, by and large, possess accurate information about their districts when it comes to finance, teacher pay, collective bargaining, and…

... commitment to the integrity of the organic food and fiber industry; the ability to evaluate technical...; ] DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service Nominations for Members of the National Organic Standards Board AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Organic...

The nature of trusteeship has changed markedly in the new century. In addition to the mission-related and financial issues with which fiduciaries have always dealt, trustees of nonprofit organizations are now regularly required to make decisions in response to media scrutiny, challenges from regulators, demands from stakeholders and constituents,…

A fiber optic connector and method for connecting composite materials within which optical fibers are imbedded are disclosed. The fiber optic connector includes a capillary tube for receiving optical fibers at opposing ends. The method involves inserting a first optical fiber into the capillary tube and imbedding the unit in the end of a softened composite material. The capillary tube is injected with a coupling medium which subsequently solidifies. The composite material is machined to a desired configuration. An external optical fiber is then inserted into the capillary tube after fluidizing the coupling medium, whereby the optical fibers are coupled. 3 figs.

A fiber optic connector and method for connecting composite materials within which optical fibers are imbedded. The fiber optic connector includes a capillary tube for receiving optical fibers at opposing ends. The method involves inserting a first optical fiber into the capillary tube and imbedding the unit in the end of a softened composite material. The capillary tube is injected with a coupling medium which subsequently solidifies. The composite material is machined to a desired configuration. An external optical fiber is then inserted into the capillary tube after fluidizing the coupling medium, whereby the optical fibers are coupled.

A fiber optic temperature sensor uses a light source which transmits light through an optical fiber to a sensor head at the opposite end of the optical fiber from the light source. The sensor head has a housing coupled to the end of the optical fiber. A metallic reflective surface is coupled to the housing adjacent the end of the optical fiber to form a gap having a predetermined length between the reflective surface and the optical fiber. A detection system is also coupled to the optical fiber which determines the temperature at the sensor head from an interference pattern of light which is reflected from the reflective surface.

A fiber optic temperature sensor uses a light source which transmits light through an optical fiber to a sensor head at the opposite end of the optical fiber from the light source. The sensor head has a housing coupled to the end of the optical fiber. A metallic reflective surface is coupled to the housing adjacent the end of the optical fiber to form a gap having a predetermined length between the reflective surface and the optical fiber. A detection system is also coupled to the optical fiber which determines the temperature at the sensor head from an interference pattern of light which is reflected from the reflective surface.

Graphite fibers released from composites during burning or an explosion caused shorting of electrical and electronic equipment. Silicon carbide, silica, silicon nitride and boron nitride were coated on graphite fibers to increase their electrical resistances. Resistances as high as three orders of magnitude higher than uncoated fiber were attained without any significant degradation of the substrate fiber. An organo-silicone approach to produce coated fibers with high electrical resistance was also used. Celion 6000 graphite fibers were coated with an organo-silicone compound, followed by hydrolysis and pyrolysis of the coating to a silica-like material. The shear and flexural strengths of composites made from high electrically resistant fibers were considerably lower than the shear and flexural strengths of composites made from the lower electrically resistant fibers. The lower shear strengths of the composites indicated that the coatings on these fibers were weaker than the coating on the fibers which were pyrolyzed at higher temperature.

A device for the purpose of monitoring light transmissions in optical fibers comprises a fiber optic tap that optically diverts a fraction of a transmitted optical signal without disrupting the integrity of the signal. The diverted signal is carried, preferably by the fiber optic tap, to a lens or lens system that disperses the light over a solid angle that facilitates viewing. The dispersed light indicates whether or not the monitored optical fiber or system of optical fibers is currently transmitting optical information.

The effective fiber strength of alumina fibers in an aluminum composite was increased to 173,000 psi. A high temperature heat treatment, combined with a glassy carbon surface coating, was used to prevent degradation and improve fiber tensile strength. Attempts to achieve chemical strengthening of the alumina fiber by chromium oxide and boron oxide coatings proved unsuccessful. A major problem encountered on the program was the low and inconsistent strength of the Dupont Fiber FP used for the investigation.

This report is an analysis of the means of egress and life safety requirements for the laboratory building. The building is located at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, NM. The report includes a prescriptive-based analysis as well as a performance-based analysis. Following the analysis are appendices which contain maps of the laboratory building used throughout the analysis. The top of all the maps is assumed to be north.

Fiber optics are finding a place in the automotive industry. Illumination is the primary application today. Soon, however, fiber optics will be used for data communications and sensing applications. Silica fiber optics and plastic fibers are sufficient for illumination and communication applications however, sensing applications involving high temperature measurement and remote gas analysis would benefit from the use of infrared fiber optics. Chalcogonide and heavy metal fluoride glass optical fibers are two good candidates for these applications. Heavy metal fluoride optical fibers are being investigated by NASA for applications requiring transmission in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Zirconium-Barium-Lanthanum-Aluminum-Sodium-Fluoride (ZBLAN) is one such material which has been investigated. This material has a theoretical attenuation coefficient 100 times lower than that of silica and transmits into the mid-IR. However, the measured attenuation coefficient is higher than silica due to impurities and crystallization. Impurities can be taken care of by utilizing cleaner experimental protocol. It has been found that crystallization can be suppressed by processing in reduced gravity. Fibers processed in reduced gravity on the KC135 reduced gravity aircraft were found to be free of crystals while those processed on the ground were found to have crystals. These results will be presented along with plans for producing continuous lengths of ZBLAN optical fiber on board the International Space Station.

The authority of school boards is being eroded by teacher militancy, administrative professionalism, and technology. Boards are performing a legal rather than a deliberative function. Court decisions regarding due process are forcing important adjustments in board power. (Author/WM)

Describes how school boards and administrators can use a facility-planning symposium, which brings together educators, students, parents, business leaders, and others, to establish an educational program and to design a template representative of the community. Examines ways to construct a shared vision and looks at design issues. (RJM)

The NCB Model 1 , 2 , 3 suggests that the nucleus is a relativistic 2D structure. In 1996 at Argonne National Lab the Checker Board Model was first presented. In that poster presentation it was explained that the relativistic constituent quarks orbit inside the proton at about 85% c and about 99% c inside the neutron. As a way to test the model it was found that the de Broglie wavelength of the up quark matched the calculated circumference of the proton (radius = 0.5194 fm) analogous to the Bohr model of the electron in the H atom. 20 years later it is now accepted that the quarks are moving at relativistic speeds and the orbital motion of the quarks contribute the major part of the spin of the proton. If one considers the motion of the relativistic quarks inside the nucleus (take for example Ca 40) about its center of mass, one realizes that these relativistic quarks are confined to shells inside the nucleus (the He shell {the inner 4 nucleons}, the Oxygen shell ...). So the CBM eliminates the need for an illusionary strong nuclear force in favor of a force based upon an E/M force in perfect spin synchronization in a 2D plane. So the CBM is not at odds with the shell model but instead explains why the nucleus has a shell structure and correctly predicts the shell closures.

The paper contains description of chosen aspects of analysis and design of tailored optical fibers. By specialty optical fibers we understand here the fibers which have complex construction and which serve for the functional processing of optical signal rather than long distance transmission. Thus, they are called also instrumentation optical fibers. The following issues are considered: transmission properties, transformation of optical signal, fiber characteristics, fiber susceptibility to external reactions. The technology of tailored optical fibers offers a wider choice of the design tools for the fiber itself, and then various devices made from these fiber, than classical technology of communication optical fibers. The consequence is different fiber properties, nonstandard dimensions and different metrological problems. The price to be paid for wider design possibilities are bigger optical losses of these fibers and weaker mechanical properties, and worse chemical stability. These fibers find their applications outside the field of telecommunications. The applications of instrumentation optical fibers combine other techniques apart from the photonics ones like: electronic, chemical and mechatronic.

The Ocean Studies Board (OSB), created in July 1985, serves as an independent advisor to the federal government on matters of ocean science and policy. It is a unit of the Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources of the National REsearch Council (NRC). The OSB is a multi-disciplinary body with representation from the fields of marine biology and biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, engineering and marine policy. The OSB provides leadership, builds consensus, and gives timely, proactive advice to the nation on ocean science and policy issues. OSB activities fall into three broad categories: promoting the health of ocean sciences in the United States, encouraging the protection and wise use of the ocean and its resources, and applying ocean science to improve national security. A brief description of 1992 activities along with activities planned in 1993 is presented.

The Ocean Studies Board (OSB), created in July 1985, serves as an independent advisor to the federal government on matters of ocean science and policy. It is a unit of the Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources of the National REsearch Council (NRC). The OSB is a multi-disciplinary body with representation from the fields of marine biology and biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, engineering and marine policy. The OSB provides leadership, builds consensus, and gives timely, proactive advice to the nation on ocean science and policy issues. OSB activities fall into three broad categories: promoting the health of ocean sciences in the United States, encouraging the protection and wise use of the ocean and its resources, and applying ocean science to improve national security. A brief description of 1993 activities along with activities planned in 1994 is presented.

With just a few materials, building a paper model of the International Space Station (ISS) can become an excellent group, troop, or class project. This publication contains a brief overview of the ISS, its parts, the science that occurs on board, instructions, and extensions for an interdisciplinary technology experience. Discover more about the…

The objective of this project was to formulate the pulverized electronic waste (PEW) stream derived from grinding obsolete electronic assemblies and combine this material with thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers into useful, high-value commercial products materials. PEW consists primarily of various thermoset plastic materials and glass fibers from the printed wiring boards, along with ceramic pieces from chip carriers and other electronic components. Typically, the thermosetting materials have the same desirable properties as in the original electronic assembly, including relatively high temperature resistance, excellent chemical resistance, and flame retardancy. These properties combine to make PEW an inherently good inert filler material for plastic composites.

... or large groups of speech-language pathologists. Speech-language pathologists who are Board Certified Specialists in Fluency may be found on this ... Membership Software Powered by YourMembership.com ® :: Legal

... Administration in McLean, Virginia, on January 19, 2012, from 9 a.m. until such time as the Board concludes its..., 1501 Farm Credit Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting of the...

Task board constructed to facilitate time-and-motion studies for remote manipulators. Apparatus equipped with holes, objects of various shapes to be grasped and sensors with switches to indicate contact. Useful in industrial robots programmed to assemble parts.

President Ronald Reagan has announced his intention to nominate Warren J. Baker to the National Science Board (NSB), according to an announcement by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Baker is the president of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. A civil engineer by training, his research specialty is soil dynamics.The 24-member NSB is the policy-making body of the NSF. Provided that the Senate confirms his appointment, Baker will serve on the board until May 1988.

This article reviews globalization of quality standards in medicine, with emphasis on accreditation and certification. In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the American Board of Ophthalmology, the author explores globalization movements, standards of quality, expectations of others seeking certification, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) International, interrelationships with the ABMS, and considerations both pragmatic and philosophical in addressing globalization of standards. PMID:27550006

Smart boards, also known as interactive whiteboards (IWBs), are large, interactive, touch-sensitive displays that are mainly used for presentation or educational purposes. While some may not consider this an emerging technology today, changes in the design and capabilities challenge that line of thinking. This column will explain what a smart board is, provide a brief history about it, and describe where it is currently used and why it might be a technology to consider having in a library today. PMID:23607469

This software was developed to post real-time process status and building conditions to operators, system engineers, system managers, and all support personnel. Data input is via operator console, strategically located throughout the facility, or by electronic rounds tablet. The system requires a person to log in with a unique user id and password to edit data. Viewing system status does not require log in and can be done from any desktop location running FileMaker. Oncemore » logged into the system, all new records saved are stamped with date, time and user name, and a historical copy is created that can be brought up to review status. There is no limitation to the amount of records that can be saved in the historical databases. The system will flag all out of limit conditions on the screen and enter that record on a turnover summery page which displays only flagged items. System conditions are displayed on a plasma display which scrolls through the various system condition screens. The system also shows floor plans that reflect specific building radiological conditions which aides in pre job briefings to show all hazards to personnel entering specific locations. The input screen is displayed on a second standard computer monitor connected to the input PC. There are several popup screens that require user intervention to ensure that the user wants to edit the data, is editing the appropriate sytem, and if they want to continue to stay logged into the system. Each workstation is connected to a Uninterrupted Power Supply which will shut each system down safely in a power failure. The server is configured to print out current status upon notification from the UPS that power has failed. The system also has a video input card which is connected to a DVD/VCR which shows safety meetings, and images taken from a digital camera used to show specific locations/items for pre-job briefings.« less

Whether renovating or constructing a school building, planners must give serious thought to how a building might accommodate different instructional approaches and avoid traffic or supervision nightmares. Planners must also consider aesthetics, community-school partnerships, and educational technology's role. A sidebar by James Fox and Kay Psencik…

Much of the machinery throughout the APS will be controlled by VME based computers. In order to increase the reliability of the system, it is necessary to be able to monitor the status of each VME crate. In order to do this, a VME System Monitor was created. In addition to being able to monitor and report the status (watchdog timer, temperature, CPU (Motorola MVME 167) state (status, run, fail), and the power supply), it includes provisions to remotely reset the CPU and VME crate, digital I/O, and parts of the transition module (serial port and ethernet connector) so that the Motorla MVME 712 is not needed. The standard VME interface was modified on the System Monitor so that in conjunction with the Motorola MVME 167 a message based VXI interrupt handler could is implemented. The System Monitor is a single VME card (6U). It utilizes both the front panel and the P2 connector for I/O. The front panel contains a temperature monitor, watchdog status LED, 4 general status LEDs, input for a TTL interrupt, 8 binary inputs (24 volt, 5 volt, and dry contact sense), 4 binary outputs (dry contact, TTL, and 100 mA), serial port (electrical RS-232 or fiber optic), ethernet transceiver (10 BASE-FO or AUI), and a status link to neighbor crates. The P2 connector is used to provide the serial port and ethernet to the processor. In order to abort and read the status of the CPU, a jumper cable must be connected between the CPU and the System Monitor.

A high stability all-fiber LD-clad-pumped Tm3+-doped fiber laser was reported. The fiber laser had the ultra-narrow linewidth 50 pm at 1.948 μm with the maximal output power of 12.8 W. The slope efficiency was 28.9%, and threshold was 5.7 W. The double-clad Tm3+-doped fiber core was multi-mode, which had a demission of 25/250 μm with the core NA of 0.1 and inner-clad NA of 0.46. The high reflectivity coupler FBG was directly written into the single-mode passive photosensitive optical fiber core, which had a core diameter of 15 μm and NA of 0.1. The cavity was build-up by the high reflectivity FBG and the output fiber end Fresnel reflectivity.

A filter for removing particulate matter from high temperature flowing fluids, and in particular gases, that is reinforced with ceramic fibers. The filter has a ceramic base fiber material in the form of a fabric, felt, paper of the like, with the refractory fibers thereof coated with a thin layer of a protective and bonding refractory applied by chemical vapor deposition techniques. This coating causes each fiber to be physically joined to adjoining fibers so as to prevent movement of the fibers during use and to increase the strength and toughness of the composite filter. Further, the coating can be selected to minimize any reactions between the constituents of the fluids and the fibers. A description is given of the formation of a composite filter using a felt preform of commercial silicon carbide fibers together with the coating of these fibers with pure silicon carbide. Filter efficiency approaching 100% has been demonstrated with these filters. The fiber base material is alternately made from aluminosilicate fibers, zirconia fibers and alumina fibers. Coating with Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 is also described. Advanced configurations for the composite filter are suggested.

This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research showing advanced 2x6, 24-inch on-center framing, single top plates, open headers, and 2-stud corners reduced board feet of lumber by more than 1,000 feet, cut energy use by 13%, and cut material and labor costs by more than $1,000 on a typical home.

Superintendents have the burden and the opportunity to exert leadership through the budget-building process. This article details a dozen tenets which can be implemented by practicing superintendents. Doing so increases the chances of building trust among the stakeholders of administrators, staff, community, and school board members. The district…

Fiber optic cables have long since held the promise of providing low cost, widespread sensing capabilities. The use of fiber optic sensors within a large civil structure could allow for multiple sensing capabilities providing information as to the health of a structure. The Stafford Emerging Technologies Research Complex is a five-story, 65,000 square foot building currently under the final phases of construction on the campus of the University of Vermont. Over the course of the eight months approximately seventy fiber optic sensors have been installed within the concrete frame work of the building. The intrinsic and extrinsic fiber sensors are comprised of various types of singlemode and multimode cables. Since this project is the first major installation of it's kind, very little was known as to what techniques should be implemented to maximize fiber survivability. While installing the sensor network at the Stafford building site many lessons have been learned that would aid in future fiber installations. The techniques developed while installing fiber optic sensors are presented.

This paper provides a broad overview of the field of fiber optic chemical sensors. Several different types of fiber optic sensors and probes are described, and references are cited for each category discussed.

... soluble and insoluble. Both are important for health, digestion, and preventing diseases. Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in ...

A tiltmeter is provided which is useful in detecting very small movements such as earth tides. The device comprises a single optical fiber, and an associated weight affixed thereto, suspended from a support to form a pendulum. A light source, e.g., a light emitting diode, mounted on the support transmits light through the optical fiber to a group of further optical fibers located adjacent to but spaced from the free end of the single optical fiber so that displacement of the single optical fiber with respect to the group will result in a change in the amount of light received by the individual optical fibers of the group. Photodetectors individually connectd to the fibers produce corresponding electrical outputs which are differentially compared and processed to produce a resultant continuous analog output representative of the amount and direction of displacement of the single optical fiber.

... diseases. Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. It is also found in psyllium, ...

This is a general presentation of fiber optics instrumentation development work being conducted at NASA Dryden for the past 10 years and recent achievements in the field of fiber optics strain sensors.

Discusses various applications of fiber optics technology: information systems, industrial robots, medicine, television, transportation, and training. Types of jobs that will be available with fiber optics training (such as electricians and telephone cable installers and splicers) are examined. (CT)

Although serving on a school board is frequently a thankless and difficult task, good board members must be recruited, since the elected school board is a cornerstone of our representative form of government and is a central element of local control. A recent increase in board member turnover is assignable to the large amount of time it takes to…

... Performance Review Board AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the names of the members of the Performance Review Board. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... Personnel Management, one or more performance review boards. The board shall review and evaluate the...

... ARTS AND HUMANITIES SES Performance Review Board AGENCY: National Endowment for the Arts. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the names of members of the Performance Review Board for the... Management, one or more SES Performance Review Boards. The Board shall review and evaluate the...

... Performance Review Board AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the names of the members of the Performance Review Board. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... Personnel Management, one or more performance review boards. The board shall review and evaluate the...

... Department of the Army Performance Review Board Membership AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is given of the names of members of a Performance Review Board for the Department... accordance with regulations, one or more Senior Executive Service performance review boards. The boards...

... Department of the Army Performance Review Board Membership AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is given of the names of members of a Performance Review Board for the Department... accordance with regulations, one or more Senior Executive Service performance review boards. The boards...

... Performance Review Board AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the names of the members of the Performance Review Board. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... Management, one or more performance review boards. The board shall review and evaluate the initial...

... ARTS AND HUMANITIES SES Performance Review Board AGENCY: National Endowment for the Arts. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the names of members of the Performance Review Board for the... Management, one or more SES Performance Review Boards. The Board shall review and evaluate the...

... Agricultural Marketing Service Peanut Standards Board AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION... Bill) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Peanut Standards Board (Board) for the... peanuts. The initial Board was appointed by the Secretary and announced on December 5, 2002. USDA...

... Agricultural Marketing Service Peanut Standards Board AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION... Bill) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Peanut Standards Board (Board) for the... peanuts. The initial Board was appointed by the Secretary and announced on December 5, 2002. USDA...

The selection of a president is a governing board's most important responsibility, and the search process is the board's best opportunity to help guide its institution into a successful new era. This guide outlines the leadership roles during a search (those of the board, the board chair, the search committee, and others), briefs board…

Advisory boards in management classes expose students to experienced businesspeople and add realism. They give students insight into project work and experience working with senior management. However, boards complicate instructors' role, board members' and teachers' beliefs may conflict, and board members may give students contradictory advice.…

The executive board of the college or university governing board has the central purpose of strengthening the board's performance by helping it function efficiently and effectively. Because the executive committee can undermine trustee morale by abusing its authority, the entire governing board must decide the extent of the powers delegated to the…

The author's advice for for a school board superintendent is to assume incompetence instead of malevolence. Board members who behave inappropriately are a minority, and those with malicious intent are extremely rare. Most misbehaving board members act out of frustration. They may not understand the appropriate role of a board member.…

The combination of a prefabricated building system and a clustered terrace design has resulted in economical and aesthetically pleasing housing for students at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. (Author)

Capability for the lowest cost is the goal of contemporary communications managers. With all of the competitive pressures that modern businesses are experiencing these days, communications needs must be met with the most information carrying capacity for the lowest cost. Optical fiber communication systems meet these requirements while providing reliability, system integrity, and potential future upgradability. Consequently, optical fiber is finding numerous applications in addition to its traditional telephony plant. Fiber based systems are meeting these requirements in building networks and computer interconnects at a lower cost than copper based systems. A fiber type being chosen by industry to meet these needs in standard systems such as FDDI, is multimode fiber. Multimode fiber systems offer cost advantages over single-mode fiber through lower fiber connection costs. Also, system designers can gain savings by using low cost, high reliability, wide spectral width sources such as LEDs instead of lasers and by operating at higher bit rates than used for multimode systems in the past. However, in order to maximize the cost savings while ensuring the system will operate as intended, the chromatic dispersion of the fiber must be taken into account. This paper explains how to do that and shows how to calculate multimode chromatic dispersion for each of the standard fiber sizes (50 μm, 62.5 μm, 85 μm, and 100μm core diameter).

The intent of this project was to provide research experiences for socially and economically disadvantaged students in networking via fiber optics. The objectives of this project were: 1) To provide knowledge and skills needed by students to use the tools and equipment essential to networking NASA's and the university's topologies; 2) To provide the student researchers with needed mathematical skills and concepts to progress in fiber optic technology; 3) To afford the principal investigator an opportunity to become certified in fiber optics; 4) To build a transmitter and receiver circuit that will be linked by fiber-optic cable to demonstrate mastery of concepts; and 5) To conduct research for NASA and the University in the fiber-optic system. The research will attempt to develop applications for THUNDER (Thin-layer Composite Unimorph Ferroelectric Driver and Sensor) and LARC-SI (Langley Research Center- Soluble Polyimide), (inventions at NASA/LaRC) and fiber-optic technology that will be beneficial to NASA, the university and the consumer. This research has the potential of improving the nation's manpower in the area of fiberoptic technology. It will allow students the opportunity to participate in visible research at NASA and in industry.

A multi-mode gain fiber is provided which affords substantial improvements in the maximum pulse energy, peak power handling capabilities, average output power, and/or pumping efficiency of fiber amplifier and laser sources while maintaining good beam quality (comparable to that of a conventional single-mode fiber source). These benefits are realized by coiling the multimode gain fiber to induce significant bend loss for all but the lowest-order mode(s).

A reduced gravity fiber pulling apparatus (FPA) was constructed in order to study the effects of gravity on glass fiber formation. The apparatus was specifically designed and built for use on NASA's KC-135 aircraft. Four flights have been completed to date during which E-glass fiber was successfully produced in simulated zero, high, and lunar gravity environments. In addition simulated lunar soil samples were tested for their fiber producing properties using the FPA.

A displacement sensor includes a first optical fiber for radiating light to a target, and a second optical fiber for receiving light from the target. The end of the first fiber is adjacent and not axially aligned with the second fiber end. A lens focuses light from the first fiber onto the target and light from the target onto the second fiber.

Describes Clemson University's Advanced Engineered Fibers Laboratory, which was established to provide national leadership and expertise in developing the processing equipment and advance fibers necessary for the chemical, fiber, and textile industries to enter the composite materials market. Discusses some of the laboratory's activities in…

Research at the Army Materials Technology Laboratory (AMTL) and elsewhere has shown that many glass properties including elastic modulus, hardness, and corrosion resistance are improved markedly by the substitution of nitrogen for oxygen in the glass structure. Oxynitride glasses, therefore, offer exciting opportunities for making high modulus, high strength fibers. Processes for making oxynitride glasses and fibers of glass compositions similar to commercial oxide glasses, but with considerable enhanced properties, are discussed. We have made glasses with elastic moduli as high as 140 GPa and fibers with moduli of 120 GPa and tensile strengths up to 2900 MPa. AMTL holds a U.S. patent on oxynitride glass fibers, and this presentation discusses a unique process for drawing small diameter oxynitride glass fibers at high drawing rates. Fibers are drawn through a nozzle from molten glass in a molybdenum crucible at 1550 C. The crucible is situated in a furnace chamber in flowing nitrogen, and the fiber is wound in air outside of the chamber, making the process straightforward and commercially feasible. Strengths were considerably improved by improving glass quality to minimize internal defects. Though the fiber strengths were comparable with oxide fibers, work is currently in progress to further improve the elastic modulus and strength of fibers. The high elastic modulus of oxynitride glasses indicate their potential for making fibers with tensile strengths surpassing any oxide glass fibers, and we hope to realize that potential in the near future.

The chemical and physical properties of different forms of mineral fibers impact biopersistence and pathology in the lung. Fiber chemistry, length, aspect ratio, surface area and dose are critical factors determining mineral fiber-associated health effects including cancer and as...

Optically pumped rare-earth-doped polarizing fibers exhibit significantly higher gain for one linear polarization state than for the orthogonal state. Such a fiber can be used to construct a single-polarization fiber laser, amplifier, or amplified-spontaneous-emission (ASE) source without the need for additional optical components to obtain stable, linearly polarized operation.

Describes the fiber optics programs at the Career and Technical Center in Berlin, Pennsylvania and the Charles S. Monroe Technology Center in Loudoun County, Virginia. Discusses the involvement of the Fiber Optic Association with education, research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, installation, and maintenance of fiber optic…

This resource guide and the appendices are intended to help boards of trustees design a self-evaluation process that meets specific board needs and cultures. The information should help boards determine the approach they will use, which criteria will provide the best information for the board, who will be asked to evaluate the board, and how the…

The history of attempts to spread scientific know-how beyond western centres of excellence is littered with failures. Capacity building needs long-term commitment, a critical mass of trainees, and a supportive home environment.

This second interim report describes the development of a field expedient fibers optics cable splicing system. The field splice kit will include a manually operated splicing machine which includes all of the tools, mounted on a single platform, for making the field repair. The splice consists of glass four-rod alignment guides pre-mounted in the splice housing, which also provides the means for fiber and cable retentions. The Phase 1 brass-board splicer is described in detail with the aid of photographs. The Phase 2 design is based on the concepts used in the brassboard model, with many modifications to improve the ease and speed of repair, as well as to reduce weight and cost of the repair kit.

A device for the purpose of monitoring light transmissions in optical fibers comprises a fiber optic tap that optically diverts a fraction of a transmitted optical signal without disrupting the integrity of the signal. The diverted signal is carried, preferably by the fiber optic tap, to a lens or lens system that disperses the light over a solid angle that facilitates viewing. The dispersed light indicates whether or not the monitored optical fiber or system of optical fibers is currently transmitting optical information. 4 figures.

A survey of the developments in the field of fiber optics sensor technology is presented along with a discussion of the advantages of optical measuring instruments as compared with electronic sensors. The two primary types of fiber optics sensors, specifically those with multiwave fibers and those with monowave fibers, are described. Examples of each major sensor type are presented and discussed. Multiwave detectors include external and internal fiber optics sensors. Among the monowave detectors are Mach-Zender interferometers, Michelson interferometers, Sagnac interferometers (optical gyroscopes), waveguide resonators, and polarimeter sensors. Integrated optical sensors and their application in spectroscopy are briefly discussed.

The emergence of multimaterial fibers that combine a multiplicity of solid materials with disparate electrical, optical, and mechanical properties into a single fiber presents new opportunities for extending fiber applications well beyond optical transmission. Fiber reflectors, thermal detectors, photodetectors, chemical sensors, surface-emitting fiber lasers, fiber diodes, and other functional fiber devices have been demonstrated with this approach. Yet, throughout this development and indeed the development of fibers in general, a key premise has remained unchanged : that fibers are essentially static devices incapable of controllably changing their properties at high frequencies. Unique opportunities would arise if a rapid, electrically-driven mechanism for changing fiber properties existed. A wide spectrum of hitherto passive fiber devices could at once become active with applications spanning electronics, mechanics, acoustics, and optics, with the benefits of large surface-area, structural robustness, and mechanical flexibility. This thesis addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with the realization of electromechanical transduction in fibers through the integration of internal piezoelectric and electrostrictive domains. The fundamental challenges related to the fabrication of piezoelectric devices in fiber form are analyzed from a materials perspective, and candidate materials and geometries are selected that are compatible with the thermal drawing process. The first realization of a thermally drawn piezoelectric fiber device is reported and its piezoelectric response is established over a wide range of frequencies. The acoustic properties of piezoelectric fiber devices are characterized and related to their mechanical and geometric properties. Collective effects in multi-fiber constructs are discussed and demonstrated by the realization of a linear phased array of piezoelectric fibers capable of acoustic beam steering. High strain actuation

Hybrid matrix fiber composites having enhanced compressive performance as well as enhanced stiffness, toughness and durability suitable for compression-critical applications. The methods for producing the fiber composites using matrix hybridization. The hybrid matrix fiber composites include two chemically or physically bonded matrix materials, whereas the first matrix materials are used to impregnate multi-filament fibers formed into ribbons and the second matrix material is placed around and between the fiber ribbons that are impregnated with the first matrix material and both matrix materials are cured and solidified.

A laser rod is formed from a plurality of optical fibers, each forming an individual laser. Synchronization of the individual fiber lasers is obtained by evanescent wave coupling between adjacent optical fiber cores. The fiber cores are dye-doped and spaced at a distance appropriate for evanescent wave coupling at the wavelength of the selected dye. An interstitial material having an index of refraction lower than that of the fiber core provides the optical isolation for effective lasing action while maintaining the cores at the appropriate coupling distance. 2 figs.

This invention is comprised of a device for the purpose of monitoring light transmissions in optical fibers comprises a fiber optic tap that optically diverts a fraction of a transmitted optical signal without disrupting the integrity of the signal. The diverted signal is carried, preferably by the fiber optic tap, to a lens or lens system that disperses the light over a solid angle that facilitates viewing. The dispersed light indicates whether or not the monitored optical fiber or system of optical fibers is currently transmitting optical information.

A coating is applied to reinforcing fibers arranged into a tow by coaxially aligning the tow with an adjacent separation layer and winding or wrapping the tow and separation layer onto a support structure in an interleaved manner so that the separation layer separates a wrap of the tow from an adjacent wrap of the tow. A coating can then be uniformly applied to the reinforcing fibers without defects caused by fiber tow to fiber tow contact. The separation layer can be a carbon fiber veil.

A coating is applied to reinforcing fibers arranged into a tow by coaxially aligning the tow with an adjacent separation layer and winding or wrapping the tow and separation layer onto a support structure in an interleaved manner so that the separation layer separates a wrap of the tow from an adjacent wrap of the tow. A coating can then be uniformly applied to the reinforcing fibers without defects caused by fiber tow to fiber tow contact. The separation layer can be a carbon fiber veil.

This dissertation introduces a completely new class of fiber-optic accelerometers based on the principles of photoelasticity. Two different types of accelerometers are designed and developed. The first is a general purpose accelerometer which employs a sensing element made from an optically sensitive photoelastic plastic; the unit is designed with a relatively low natural frequency and a high sensitivity. The second is a shock accelerometer which employs a glass GRIN lens as its sensing element; the unit is designed with a relatively high frequency and a wide measurement range. In both cases, a low-cost LED is employed as an incoherent light source; multimode optical fibers having a hard plastic cladding are used to transmit signals between the acceleration transducer and the conditioning electronics. The dissertation includes a brief introduction to accelerometer measurement in which current applications and associated problems are presented; detailed descriptions of the operating principles and design criteria considered when building an accelerometer; prior related research; discussions involving photoelastic fiber-optic transducers; a comprehensive analysis of sensing elements; the designs for the overall measurement systems; and, the results obtained by testing prototypes produced from the final designs. The qualitative and quantitative analyses contained herein represent a unique blend of mechanics, physics and electro-optics. A number of new discoveries are reported especially in conjunction with the analysis of the GRIN lens. Several new definitions are introduced, some of which make it possible to compare the performance of the photoelastic fiber-optic accelerometers to that of their more conventional counterparts. The test results show that both accelerometers meet their design requirements and their performance is comparable to some of the best accelerometers commercially available.

This paper presents the first optical fiber sensor gateway for integrating these special measurement devices in Home Automation Systems, concretely in those buildings that use the KNX European Intelligent Buildings Standard.

Many synthetic or natural fibers are produced via the transformation of a liquid solution into a solid filament, which allows the wet processing of high molecular weight polymers, proteins, or inorganic particles. Synthetic wet-spun fibers are used in our everyday life from clothing to composite reinforcement applications. Spun fibers are also common in nature. Silk solidification results from the coagulation of protein solutions. The chemical phenomena involved in the formation of all these classes of fibers can be quite different but they all share the same fundamental transformation from a liquid to a solid state. The solidification process is critical because it governs the production rate and the strength that fibers can sustain to be drawn and wound. An approach is proposed in this work to investigate the kinetics of fiber solidification. This approach consists in circulating solidifying fibers in the extensional flow of a surrounding liquid. Such as polymers in extensional flows, the fibers break if resultant drag forces exceed the fiber tensile strength. The solidification kinetics of nanotube composite fibers serves as a validation example of this approach. The method could be extended to other systems and advance thereby the science and technology of fiber and textile materials. It is also a way to directly visualize the scission of chain-like systems in extensional flows. PMID:20937910

Many synthetic or natural fibers are produced via the transformation of a liquid solution into a solid filament, which allows the wet processing of high molecular weight polymers, proteins, or inorganic particles. Synthetic wet-spun fibers are used in our everyday life from clothing to composite reinforcement applications. Spun fibers are also common in nature. Silk solidification results from the coagulation of protein solutions. The chemical phenomena involved in the formation of all these classes of fibers can be quite different but they all share the same fundamental transformation from a liquid to a solid state. The solidification process is critical because it governs the production rate and the strength that fibers can sustain to be drawn and wound. An approach is proposed in this work to investigate the kinetics of fiber solidification. This approach consists in circulating solidifying fibers in the extensional flow of a surrounding liquid. Such as polymers in extensional flows, the fibers break if resultant drag forces exceed the fiber tensile strength. The solidification kinetics of nanotube composite fibers serves as a validation example of this approach. The method could be extended to other systems and advance thereby the science and technology of fiber and textile materials. It is also a way to directly visualize the scission of chain-like systems in extensional flows. PMID:20937910

The synthesis of a high-melting temperature semiconductor in a low-temperature fiber drawing process is demonstrated, substantially expanding the set of materials that can be incorporated into fibers. Reagents in the solid state are arranged in proximate domains within a fiber preform. The preform is fluidized at elevated temperatures and drawn into fiber, reducing the lateral dimensions and bringing the domains into intimate contact to enable chemical reaction. A polymer preform containing a thin layer of selenium contacted by tin–zinc wires is drawn to yield electrically contacted crystalline ZnSe domains of sub-100-nm scales. The in situ synthesized compound semiconductor becomes the basis for an electronic heterostructure diode of arbitrary length in the fiber. The ability to synthesize materials within fibers while precisely controlling their geometry and electrical connectivity at submicron scales presents new opportunities for increasing the complexity and functionality of fiber structures.

A fiber optic vibration sensor utilizes two single mode optical fibers supported by a housing with one optical fiber fixedly secured to the housing and providing a reference signal and the other optical fiber having a free span length subject to vibrational displacement thereof with respect to the housing and the first optical fiber for providing a signal indicative of a measurement of any perturbation of the sensor. Damping or tailoring of the sensor to be responsive to selected levels of perturbation is provided by altering the diameter of optical fibers or by immersing at least a portion of the free span length of the vibration sensing optical fiber into a liquid of a selected viscosity. 2 figures.

A fiber optic vibration sensor utilizes two single mode optical fibers supported by a housing with one optical fiber fixedly secured to the housing and providing a reference signal and the other optical fiber having a free span length subject to vibrational displacement thereof with respect to the housing and the first optical fiber for providing a signal indicative of a measurement of any perturbation of the sensor. Damping or tailoring of the sensor to be responsive to selected levels of perturbation is provided by altering the diameter of optical fibers or by immersing at least a portion of the free span length of the vibration sensing optical fiber into a liquid of a selected viscosity.

One of the options for future particle accelerators are photonic band gap (PBG) fiber accelerators. PBG fibers are specially designed optical fibers that use lasers to excite an electric field that is used to accelerate electrons. To improve PBG accelerators, the basic parameters of the fiber were tested to maximize defect size and acceleration. Using the program CUDOS, several accelerating modes were found that maximized these parameters for several wavelengths. The design of multiple defects, similar to having closely bound fibers, was studied to find possible coupling or the change of modes. The amount of coupling was found to be dependent on distance separated. For certain distances accelerating coupled modes were found and examined. In addition, several non-periodic fiber structures were examined using CUDOS. The non-periodic fibers produced several interesting results and promised more modes given time to study them in more detail.

A tapered optical fiber amplifier is designed to provide for long-distance, un-repeatered fiber optic communications. Two single-mode fiber portions are tapered to efficiently intensify and couple an information signal from a laser diode and a pump signal at a shorter wavelength into a fused, tapered single-mode fiber optic coupler. The concentrated information signal and concentrated pump signal are combined via the coupler which is coupled to a several-kilometer length of a relatively small core diametered single-mode fiber to create nonlinear optical effect (stimulated Raman scattering) (SRS). The SRS causes Raman shift of the pump light into the small core diametered single-mode fiber length, thereby generating SRS to result in a signal amplification and an efficient extraction of the amplified signal via the tapered output fiber portion or pigtail.

A method and apparatus for sensing moisture changes by utilizing optical fiber technology. One embodiment uses a reflective target at the end of an optical fiber. The reflectance of the target varies with its moisture content and can be detected by a remote unit at the opposite end of the fiber. A second embodiment utilizes changes in light loss along the fiber length. This can be attributed to changes in reflectance of cladding material as a function of its moisture content. It can also be affected by holes or inserts interposed in the cladding material and/or fiber. Changing light levels can also be coupled from one fiber to another in an assembly of fibers as a function of varying moisture content in their overlapping lengths of cladding material.

Fluoride glasses are the only material that transmit light from ultraviolet to mid-infrared and can be drawn into industrial optical fibers. The mechanical and optical properties of new indium fluoride glass fibers have been investigated. Multimode fiber 190 microns, has very high mechanical strength greater than 100 kpsi and optical loss as low as 45 dB/km between 2 and 4 microns. Unlike chalcogenide glass fibers, indium fluoride fiber has a wide transmission window from 0.3 to 5.5 microns without any absorption peak. Indium fluoride glass fibers are the technology of choice for all application requiring transmission up to 5 micron such as infrared contour measure (IRCM) and chemical sensing. Furthermore, Indium fluoride glasses have low phonon energy and can be heavily doped and co-doped whit rare-earth elements. Therefore they are very promising candidates for infrared fiber lasers.

The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of the future might consist of local computer networks tied together through long haul links, using a packet-switching technique. This paper assesses fiber optic link characteristics as potential components of SCADA systems. Essentially, a fiber optic link is constrained to a simplex communication from transmitter to receiver. Such a simplex link is analyzed for its capability to convey baseband signaling and time-, frequency-, and spectral-division multiplexing. The combination of a microcomputer and a simplex fiber optic link is a building block for several configurations of local computer networks. Such a building block is called the Universal Intelligent Optical Communication Link (UIOCL). The paper examines prospective optical networking techniques and evaluates several optical couplers for various network configurations as well as for full- and halfduplex communications. The feasibility of long haul fiber optic links and networks is considered further in the paper.

In order to maintain the high standards of the NASA printed wiring programs, this publication: prescribes NASA's requirements for assuring reliable rigid printed wiring boards; describes and incorporates basic considerations necessary to assure reliable rigid printed wiring boards; establishes the supplier's responsibility to train and certify personnel; provides for supplier documentation of the fabrication and inspection procedures to be used for NASA work, including supplier innovations and changes in technology; and provides visual workmanship standards to aid those responsible for determining quality conformance to the established requirements.

This guide discusses issues related to how and what kinds of information needs to be provided to college and university governing boards. It notes that many institutions thwart their own good intentions to keep trustees informed by providing too much information, inappropriate levels of detail, lack of governance perspective or strategic…

An often-volatile economy, changing demographics, and technological innovations in educational delivery are among the dramatic changes across higher education that have forced boards and institutions to question the viability of the existing business model. Flat or declining state support in real terms, lower investment returns in some years,…

ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AIF3-NaF (ZBLAN) optical fiber was flown on board the NASA's KC-135 microgravity aircraft to determine the effects of microgravity on crystal growth in this material. Fiber samples were placed in evacuated quartz ampoules and heated to the crystallization temperature in 0g, 1g, and 2g. The 1g and 2g samples were observed to slump and crystallize. The 0g samples showed no evidence of crystallization.

Nonlinear processes in optical fibers can affect data transmission and power carried by optical fibers and can limit the bandwidth and the capacity of optical communications. On the other hand nonlinear phenomena could be utilized to build in-fiber all-optical light sources and amplifiers. In this thesis new peaks inside an optical fiber have been generated using nonlinear processes. An intense green pump laser has been launched into a short fiber and specific modes have been excited to generate two new peaks in red and blue wavelengths, where two pump photons are annihilated to create two new photons in red and blue. The generated peaks are shifted far from pump; therefore they are less polluted by pump and Raman induced noises. The phase matching condition and the photon-flux rate for spontaneous and stimulated FWM have been studied both theoretically and experimentally for a commercial grade SMF-28 fiber. In low power and spontaneous regime new peaks are generated from quantum vacuum noise. Using the same pump laser for a long fiber, up to 21 new peaks spanning from green to Infrared have been generated. These peaks are equally spaced by 13THz. Generation of a Raman cascade spanning the wavelength range of 523 to 1750 nm wavelength range, in a standard telecommunication graded-index multimode optical fiber has been reported. Despite the highly multimode nature of the pump, the Raman peaks are generated in specific modes of the fiber, confirming substantial beam cleanup during the stimulated Raman scattering process.

Many scientific instruments are nowadays coupled to the telescope through optical fibers. This is also the case of the current configuration of GIANO, the high resolution near infrared echelle spectrograph installed at the TNG telescope. As experienced and frequent users of the IR optical fiber, the GIANO building team decided to go deep in the characterization of the optical fiber in the IR band, and in particular to understand and analyze the fiber modal noise. This work is also a preparatory study for the future HIRES@E-ELT instrument design. This paper consists in the description of the fiber laboratory tests, and in the explanation of the results. The whole job defines a wider comprehension of the modal noise, and demonstrates the existence of two aspects influencing this noise. The first one, well known in literature, refers to the interferences between the fiber modes at the exit endface of the fiber, and it can be mitigated by mechanical scrambling techniques. The second one, unknown before, is entirely dependent on the way in which light is injected at the entrance of the fiber, and no mitigation have been observed with any classical scrambling technique (e.g. double-scramblers). These considerations apply to both ZBLAN or fused silica optical fiber, and to both circular and octagonal core shape.

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are a mature sensing technology that has gained rapid acceptance in civil, aerospace, chemical and petrochemical, medicine, aviation and automotive industries. Fiber Bragg grating sensors can be use for a variety of measurements including strain, stress, vibration, acoustics, acceleration, pressure, temperature, moisture, and corrosion distributed at multiple locations within the structure using a single fiber element. The most prominent advantages of FBGs are: small size and light weight, multiple FBG transducers on a single fiber, and immunity to radio frequency interference. A major disadvantage of FBG technology is that conventional state-of-the-art fiber Bragg grating interrogation systems are typically bulky, heavy, and costly bench top instruments that are assembled from off-the-shelf fiber optic and optical components integrated with a signal electronics board into an instrument console. Based on the need for a compact FBG interrogation system, this paper describes recent progress towards the development of a miniature fiber Bragg grating sensor interrogator (FBG-TransceiverTM) system based on multi-channel monolithic integrated optic sensor microchip technology. The integrated optic microchip technology enables the monolithic integration of all of the functionalities, both passive and active, of conventional bench top FBG sensor interrogators systems, packaged in a miniaturized, low power operation, 2-cm x 5-cm small form factor (SFF) package suitable for the long-term structural health monitoring in applications where size, weight, and power are critical for operation.

In this article, the author describes the development and implementation of a measurement-based group activity designed to support students in understanding the connection between angle magnitude and the shape of the sine function. She explains that the benefit of this activity is that it allows students to build their trigonometric knowledge…

The need for flexibility in science research facilities is discussed, with emphasis on the effect of that need on the design of laboratories. The relationship of office space, bench space, and special equipment areas, and the location and distribution of piping and air conditioning, are considered particularly important. This building type study…

This curriculum guide provides materials for a competency-based course in building trades at the secondary level. The curriculum design uses the curriculum infused model for the teaching of basic skills as part of vocational education and demonstrates the relationship of vocationally related skills to communication, mathematics, and science…

The purpose of this eight-unit course is to explore the values and issues of modern urban neighborhoods. It focuses on how community leaders can apply the broad principle of justice to problems of security, reciprocity, and fellowship that face most neighborhoods today. The course is intended for use by community leaders in building community…

Describes how an initial $1,500 grant helped build a desperately needed health clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Provides the history of the clinic, from its beginning as a small grant to its ultimate development into a $400,000 solar-heated health clinic with a staff of 9 people, including a full-time physician. (MAB)

A temperature sensor has been developed that utilizes the temperature dependent absorption of a rare earth doped optical fiber. The temperature measurement is localized at a remote position by splicing a short section of the rare earth fiber into a loop of commercial data communication fiber that sends and returns an optical probe signal to the temperature sensitive section of fiber. The optical probe signal is generated from two different wavelength filtered LED sources. A four port fiber optic coupler combines the two separate wavelength signals into the fiber sensing loop. Time multiplexing is used so that each signal wavelength is present at a different time. A reference signal level measurement is also made from the LED sources and a ratio taken with the sensor signal to produce a transmission measurement of the fiber loop. The transmission is affected differently at each wavelength by the rare earth temperature sensitive fiber. The temperature is determined from a ratio of the two transmission measurements. This method eliminates any ambiguity with respect to changes in signal level in the fiber loop such as mating and unmating optical connectors. The temperature range of the sensor is limited to about 800 C by the temperature limit fo the feed fibers.

Several approaches for applying high resistance coatings continuously to graphite yarn were investigated. Two of the most promising approaches involved (1) chemically vapor depositing (CVD) SiC coatings on the surface of the fiber followed by oxidation, and (2) drawing the graphite yarn through an organo-silicone solution followed by heat treatments. In both methods, coated fibers were obtained which exhibited increased electrical resistances over untreated fibers and which were not degraded. This work was conducted in a previous program. In this program, the continuous CVD SiC coating process used on HTS fiber was extended to the coating of HMS, Celion 6000, Celion 12000 and T-300 graphite fiber. Electrical resistances three order of magnitude greater than the uncoated fiber were measured with no significant degradation of the fiber strength. Graphite fibers coated with CVD Si3N4 and BN had resistances greater than 10(exp 6) ohm/cm. Lower pyrolysis temperatures were used in preparing the silica-like coatings also resulting in resistances as high as three orders of magnitude higher than the uncoated fiber. The epoxy matrix composites prepared using these coated fibers had low shear strengths indicating that the coatings were weak.

Fiber-reinforced composite resin (FRC) prostheses offer the advantages of good aesthetics, minimal invasive treatment, and an ability to bond to the abutment teeth, thereby compensating for less-than-optimal abutment tooth retention and resistance form. These prostheses are composed of two types of composite materials: fiber composites to build the framework and hybrid or microfill particulate composites to create the external veneer surface. This review concentrates on the use of fiber reinforcement in the fabrication of laboratory or chairsidemade composite-fixed partial dentures of conventional preparation. Other applications of FRC in dentistry are briefly mentioned. The possibilities fiber reinforcement technology offers must be emphasized to the dental community. Rather than limiting discussion to whether FRC prostheses will replace metal-ceramic or full-ceramic prostheses, attention should be focused on the additional treatment options brought by the use of fibers. However, more clinical experience is needed. PMID:21526023

Supercontinuum generation in highly nonlinear fibers (HNLF) pumped with femtosecond pulses is an area of large interest for applications such as broad band light sources, tunable femtosecond sources, frequency metrology, and fluorescence microscopy. In the last few years, a lot of focus has been put on optimizing photonics crystal fibers for supercontinuum application. In this paper, we will focus on conventional silica based HNLF, which e.g. have the advantage of precise dispersion control, and easy splicing to standard single mode fibers. We have performed a systematic experimental study of the effect of dispersion, of the HNLF as well as the input power to the HNLF. To pump the fiber we have build an femtosecond fiber laser consisting of a passive mode locked figure eight oscillator followed by an amplifier. The dispersion before coupling into the HNLF was optimized for broadest supercontinuum generation. Supercontinuum generation in both standard and polarization maintaining HNLF are studied.

We present the development of a single-mode spatial filter array for the nulling coronagraph application. The development consists of two generations of fiber array designs and a Zygo-interferometer based lens array to fiber array alignment methodology. We discuss the use of large mode field diameter (MFD) fibers to relax fiber placement tolerance of the fiber array. The pros and cons of using the Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) for building the array are discussed. The future plan for implementing a 1000-channel class, single-mode spatial filter array is described.

The basic function of any school board meeting is the transaction of the official business of the school district. Policies that direct the daily activities of the school are derived through this transaction process. If an understanding of the intricacies, actions, and interactions of each group that participates either directly or indirectly in a…

Written for trustees and college/university presidents, this book examines and discusses the relationship between the governing board and college presidents in higher education. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the college presidency. Chapter 2 presents a review of the research on leadership which demonstrates that the policies and practices of…

Although some board members and superintendents may consider superintendent evaluation as potentially disturbing for their working relationships, such evaluations may become more appealing when considered as part of a broader system of school governance and management. What is needed is a performance appraisal system developed jointly by…

National Education Association, Washington, DC. National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards.

This document is a report of the Joint Committee on Professional Standards Boards appointed by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), the National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards (NCTEPTS), and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). A…

This article addresses the question of who owns the responsibility when a charter school gets into trouble--when its students aren't learning, or it misses its enrollment targets, or money runs short, or it closes. Upon presenting this question to a director of a charter school, a board member, and a Massachusetts-based education consultant and…

Discusses a project for seventh-grade students used as their final examinations in science and art. Explains that the students created a board game based on the school year's science curriculum. Highlights the goals for the projects that are reflected in the student evaluation form. (CMK)

In the wake of the financial crisis, trustees of many endowed nonprofit institutions realized that their portfolio was riskier than they thought and their own ability to tolerate loss wasn't as strong as they imagined. What can board and investment committee members do to improve their ability to assess their--and their institution's--capacity for…

The multiplicity of nations, languages and differing ways and levels of specialized orthodontic education in Europe lead to the need for an objective review of the quality of orthodontic care. To this purpose, The European Board of Orthodontists (EBO) was introduced. This article gives an overview of the objectives of the EBO, its development and the requirements for membership. PMID:27066742

Although the planning operation is regarded by some observers as unrealistic in conditions of rapid change and increasing competition, the discipline of strategic thinking and the need for strategic leadership continue to be of vital importance. The author examines the purpose of the Board of Directors and its role in the management of strategy. PMID:10111271

The study was designed to provide information on Kentucky Hispanic school board members. The data was obtained from Kentucky school superintendents or their designees in the 174 public school districts through a survey mailed in the spring, 2009. The survey was mailed to Kentucky Superintendents on March 12, 2009. The follow-up survey was mailed…

The author opposes any Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) overseeing the work of journalism professors and journalism students in any academic institution. He argues that the tendency for IRBs to require anonymity for persons interviewed immediately reduces the credibility of any journalistic story. The composition of an IRB is questioned on…

The bulletin board and activity ideas presented in this handbook offer some attractive ways of exploring and studying various environmental issues. They stress the concept that man is but one element in the whole chain of being. Each chapter, devoted to one element apiece, begins with an overview of the natural resource situation and/or problem…

This completely redone edition is meant to be a primer on the financial responsibilities of trustees of colleges and universities and on complex trends and issues bearing on the responsibilities of governing boards. Trustees must deal with a complex blend of competing values, evolving information, and challenging analyses while taking into account…

This booklet is designed "to reinforce the thesis that the committee on trustees must perform with excellence if the board as a whole is to fulfill its responsibilities with distinction. The author outlines a typical committee mission, structure, responsibilities, and policies and practices. Ten committee responsibilities are described, such as:…

College and university governance works best when every constituency within the institution has a clear understanding of its role with respect to the other constituencies. It works best when communication among the governing board, the administration, and the faculty (not to mention the staff and students) is regular, open, and honest. Too often…

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that the public should consume adequate amounts of dietary fiber from a variety of plant foods. Dietary fiber is defined by the Institute of Medicine Food Nutrition Board as "nondigestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants." Populations that consume more dietary fiber have less chronic disease. Higher intakes of dietary fiber reduce the risk of developing several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, and have been associated with lower body weights. The Adequate Intake for fiber is 14 g total fiber per 1,000 kcal, or 25 g for adult women and 38 g for adult men, based on research demonstrating protection against coronary heart disease. Properties of dietary fiber, such as fermentability and viscosity, are thought to be important parameters influencing the risk of disease. Plant components associated with dietary fiber may also contribute to reduced disease risk. The mean intake of dietary fiber in the United States is 17 g/day with only 5% of the population meeting the Adequate Intake. Healthy adults and children can achieve adequate dietary fiber intakes by increasing their intake of plant foods while concurrently decreasing energy from foods high in added sugar and fat, and low in fiber. Dietary messages to increase consumption of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and nuts should be broadly supported by food and nutrition practitioners. PMID:26514720

Optoelectronic systems designed according to time-sharing scheme distribute optical power to multiple integrated-circuit-based sensors in fiber-optic networks. Networks combine flexibility of electronic sensing circuits with advantage of electrical isolation afforded by use of optical fibers instead of electrical conductors to transmit both signals and power. Fiber optics resist corrosion and immune to electromagnetic interference. Sensor networks of this type useful in variety of applications; for example, in monitoring strains in aircraft, buildings, and bridges, and in monitoring and controlling shapes of flexible structures.

Optical frequency combs have revolutionized optical frequency metrology and are being actively investigated in a number of applications outside of pure optical frequency metrology. For reasons of cost, robustness, performance, and flexibility, the erbium fiber laser frequency comb has emerged as the most commonly used frequency comb system and many different designs of erbium fiber frequency combs have been demonstrated. We review the different approaches taken in the design of erbium fiber frequency combs, including the major building blocks of the underlying mode-locked laser, amplifier, supercontinuum generation and actuators for stabilization of the frequency comb.

This document is a compilation of papers presented at a joint NASA/North Carolina State University/DoD/Clemson University/Drexel University conference on Fibers, Textile Technology, and Composites Structures held at the College of Textiles Building on Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina on October 15-17, 1991. Conference papers presented information on advanced engineering fibers, textile processes and structures, structural fabric production, mechanics and characteristics of woven composites, pultruded composites, and the latest requirements for the use of textiles in the production of composite materials and structures. Separate abstracts have been prepared for papers in this report.

This document is a compilation of papers presented at a joint NASA/North Carolina State University/DoD/Clemson University/Drexel University conference on Fibers, Textile Technology, and Composites Structures held at the College of Textiles Building on Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina on October 15-17, 1991. Conference papers presented information on advanced engineering fibers, textile processes and structures, structural fabric production, mechanics and characteristics of woven composites, pultruded composites, and the latest requirements for the use of textiles in the production of composite materials and structures.

In 1976 NASA awarded The Boeing Company a contract to develop IPAD (Integrated Programs for Aerospace-Vehicle Design). This contract included a requirement for Boeing to form an Industrial Technical Advisory Board (ITAB), with members representing major aerospace and computer companies. The purpose of this board was to guide the development of IPAD. The specific goal of IPAD is to increase United States aerospace industry productivity through the application of computers to manage engineering data. This goal clearly is attainable; in fact, IPAD's influence can reach beyond the aerospace industry to many businesses where product development is based on the design-building process. An enhanced IPAD, therefore, is a national asset of significance. The role of ITAB in guiding the development of this system is described.

Phased arrays remain an important strategy for scaling average power and pulse energy in optical fiber lasers. In zero-order arrays, the lengths of the constituent lasers or amplifiers are matched to within the coherence length of a pulse; for fibers having bandwidths on the order of one nanometer, lengths must be matched to 1 mm; for fiber having bandwidths on the order of 30 nm (pulse duration of 100 fs), lengths must be matched to 30 {micro}m. The overarching goal of this work has been to demonstrate a scaling path to 10 mJ pulses from an array of fiber lasers, with each fiber contributing roughly 1 mJ of energy. The near term goals were, and remain, two-fold. First, to demonstrate that arrays of fiber amplifier chains can be created having path length differences on the order of sub-picoseconds. This has been accomplished, showing that sub-nanojoule, 200 fs pulses can be split into an array of four chains, each chain amplified with a single preamp, and the outputs can be recombined within the coherence length of the pulses. The second near term goal, stabilizing the phase through active feedback, is not yet complete. The strategy has been to generate an out-of-band CW seed signal that is monitored to account for fluctuations in path length that occur between pulses. At this point the necessary hardware is in place, but the control electronics are not. We expect the co-phasing work to continue under separate funding, though in a simpler form. Instead of combining pulses from many amplifiers we would combine many sequential pulses from a single fiber laser via a resonant cavity. Such a scheme is less expensive to build and test (and eventually, to field), though significant technical hurdles must be overcome, including the development of a low-loss mechanism for releasing the energy that is built up within the cavity.

The building in the top photo is the new home of the National Permanent Savings Bank in Washington, D.C., designed by Hartman-Cox Architects. Its construction was based on a money-saving method of preparing building specifications which derived from NASA technology developed to obtain quality construction while holding down cost of launch facilities, test centers and other structures. Written technical specifications spell out materials and components to be used on construction projects and identify the quality tests each item must pass. Specifications can have major impact on construction costs. Poorly formulated specifications can lead to unacceptable construction which must be replaced, unnecessarily high materials costs, safety hazards, disputes and often additional costs due to delays and litigation. NASA's Langley Research Center developed a novel approach to providing accurate, uniform, cost-effective specifications which can be readily updated to incorporate new building technologies. Called SPECSINTACT, it is a computerized - system accessible to all NASA centers involved in construction programs. The system contains a comprehensive catalog of master specifications applicable to many types of construction. It enables designers of any structure to call out relevant sections from computer storage and modify them to fit the needs of the project at hand. Architects and engineers can save time by concentrating their efforts on needed modifications rather than developing all specifications from scratch. Successful use of SPECSINTACT has led to a number of spinoff systems. One of the first was MASTERSPEC, developed from NASA's experience by Production Systems for Architects and Engineers, Inc., an organization established by the American Institute of Architects. MASTERSPEC, used in construction of the bank building pictured, follows the same basic format as SPECSINTACT and can be used in either automated or manual modes. The striking appearance of the bank

Triangular numbers are used to unravel a new sequence of natural numbers here-to-fore not appearing on the Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences website. Insight is provided on the construction of the sequence using "buildings" as a viewable model of the sequence entries. A step-by-step analysis of the sequence pattern reveals a method for generating…

A flywheel comprising a hub having at least one radially projecting disc, an annular rim secured to said disc and providing a surface circumferential to said hub, a first plurality of resin-impregnated fibers wound about said rim congruent to said surface, and a shell enclosing said first plurality of fibers and formed by a second plurality of resin-impregnated fibers wound about said rim tangentially to said surface. 2 figs.

A flywheel 2 comprising a hub 4 having at least one radially projecting disc 6, an annular rim 14 secured to said disc and providing a surface circumferential to said hub, a first plurality of resin-impregnated fibers 22 wound about said rim congruent to said surface, and a shell 26 enclosing said first plurality of fibers and formed by a second plurality of resin-impregnated fibers wound about said rim tangentially to said surface.

An accelerometer includes a wafer, a proof mass integrated into the wafer, at least one spring member connected to the proof mass, and an optical fiber. A Fabry-Perot cavity is formed by a partially reflective surface on the proof mass and a partially reflective surface on the end of the optical fiber. The two partially reflective surfaces are used to detect movement of the proof mass through the optical fiber, using an optical detection system.

Fiber-reinforced ceramic composites demonstrate the high-temperature stability of ceramics--with an increased fracture toughness resulting from the fiber reinforcement of the composite. The material optimization performed under the continuous fiber ceramic composites (CFCC) included a series of systematic optimizations. The overall goals were to define the processing window, to increase the robustinous of the process, to increase process yield while reducing costs, and to define the complexity of parts that could be fabricated.

Insulation board capable of bearing a load without significant loss of insulating capacity due to compression, produced by a method wherein the board is made in compliance with specified conditions of time, temperature and pressure.

The printed wiring board system provides automated techniques for the design of printed circuit boards and hybrid circuit boards. The system consists of four programs: (1) the preprocessor program combines user supplied data and pre-defined library data to produce the detailed circuit description data; (2) the placement program assigns circuit components to specific areas of the board in a manner that optimizes the total interconnection length of the circuit; (3) the organizer program assigns pin interconnections to specific board levels and determines the optimal order in which the router program should attempt to layout the paths connecting the pins; and (4) the router program determines the wire paths which are to be used to connect each input pin pair on the circuit board. This document is intended to serve as a programmer's reference manual for the printed wiring board system. A detailed description of the internal logic and flow of the printed wiring board programs is included.

... have the same force and effect as though such action had been taken at a properly convened meeting of... of the Board will be entitled to one vote on any matter put to the Board, and the motion will...

... have the same force and effect as though such action had been taken at a properly convened meeting of... of the Board will be entitled to one vote on any matter put to the Board, and the motion will...

CADAT printed-wiring-board system (PWB) designs printed-circuit and hybrid-circuit boards. It is comprised of four programs: preprocessor, placement program, organizer program, and the router. Component placement and interconnection paths are optimized.

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Milk), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM Dairy Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1150.104 Board. Board means the National Dairy Promotion and Research...

Functional graphene-based fibers are promising as new types of flexible building blocks for the construction of wearable architectures and devices. Unique one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 2D graphene (CNT/G) hybrid fibers with a large surface area and high electrical conductivity have been achieved by pre-intercalating graphene fibers with Fe3O4 nanoparticles for subsequent CVD growth of CNTs. The CNT/G hybrid fibers can be further woven into textile electrodes for the construction of flexible supercapacitors with a high tolerance to the repeated bending cycles. Various other applications, such as catalysis, separation, and adsorption, can be envisioned for the CNT/G hybrid fibers.Functional graphene-based fibers are promising as new types of flexible building blocks for the construction of wearable architectures and devices. Unique one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 2D graphene (CNT/G) hybrid fibers with a large surface area and high electrical conductivity have been achieved by pre-intercalating graphene fibers with Fe3O4 nanoparticles for subsequent CVD growth of CNTs. The CNT/G hybrid fibers can be further woven into textile electrodes for the construction of flexible supercapacitors with a high tolerance to the repeated bending cycles. Various other applications, such as catalysis, separation, and adsorption, can be envisioned for the CNT/G hybrid fibers. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Electrochemical measurement of graphene fibers. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr00320e

Demand for wood products continues to grow at levels that challenge the available resources. Alternative materials are sought to sustainably supplement the wood fiber industry. Experiments were conducted on composite boards made from agricultural residues. The boards were subjected to thermal tre...

A fiber optic fluorescence biosensor for choline is introduced in this paper. Choline is an important neurotransmitter in mammals. Due to the growing needs for on-site clinical monitoring of the choline, much effect has been devoted to develop choline biosensors. Fiber-optic fluorescence biosensors have many advantages, including miniaturization, flexibility, and lack of electrical contact and interference. The choline fiber-optic biosensor we designed implemented a bifurcated fiber to perform fluorescence measurements. The light of the blue LED is coupled into one end of the fiber as excitation and the emission spectrum from sensing film is monitored by fiber-spectrometer (S2000, Ocean Optics) through the other end of the fiber. The sensing end of the fiber is coated with Nafion film dispersed with choline oxidase and oxygen sensitive luminescent Ru(II) complex (Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II), hexahydrate). Choline oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of choline to betaine and hydrogen peroxide while consuming oxygen. The fluorescence intensity of oxygen- sensitive Ru(II) are related to the choline concentration. The response of the fiber-optic sensor in choline solution is represented and discussed. The result indicates a low-cost, high-performance, portable choline biosensor.

This graph depicts the increased signal quality possible with optical fibers made from ZBLAN, a family of heavy-metal fluoride glasses (fluorine combined zirconium, barium, lanthanum, aluminum, and sodium) as compared to silica fibers. NASA is conducting research on pulling ZBLAN fibers in the low-g environment of space to prevent crystallization that limits ZBLAN's usefulness in optical fiber-based communications. In the graph, a line closer to the black theoretical maximum line is better. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

A board-level audit committee offers many benefits, including helping to ensure the integrity of corporate financial reporting: facilitating direct and regular reporting between the independent auditors and the board; increasing the board's understanding of hospital systems and internal controls; and offering public evidence of the board's efforts to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities. This article suggests guidelines for the purposes and responsibilities, the composition and conduct, and the functions of a hospital audit committee. PMID:10240721